The Cincinnati Bengals had no shortage of defensive standouts in their Week 1 victory over the Cleveland Browns, but it might surprise you who the coaching staff views as worthy of a large role going forward.
An obvious case can be made for cornerback DJ Turner, who sealed the win with an interception in the fourth quarter and acquitted himself well most of Sunday afternoon. Rookie Shemar Stewart flashed his tantalizing potential, too, despite not recording a tackle.
It turns out that another first-round pick not named Stewart may figure into the Bengals’ larger defensive plans than anyone could’ve anticipated. Getting warmer?
Bengals DC Al Golden hints at large role for Myles Murphy after Week 1
In a media session on Monday, Al Golden sounded off on a lot of the positivity he saw in his debut as defensive coordinator. Among the unexpected highlights was praise for 2023 first-round defensive end Myles Murphy.
As ESPN’s Ben Baby reported, Golden said Murphy brought “great energy” and that he “certainly warrants more opportunities” in Week 2’s home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Very interesting indeed. Murphy admitted in the offseason that his first two years as a pro weren’t up to snuff due to a lackluster work ethic. It wasn’t so much that Murphy was lazy or had bad intentions as it was him simply not knowing what he didn’t know about what it takes to be a real pro.
Using that as a baseline, my expectations for Murphy entering 2025 were very low. Digging into the PFF side of things, Murphy did post a decent 68.8 grade, which is well up from 56.5 mark from last season. A small sample size of 22 snaps, yes, but progress nevertheless it seems.
Trey Hendrickson should only increase his workload versus the Jags, and Stewart did plenty to merit more action with an 88.9 PFF mark. Whatever Golden saw in Murphy, though, I can’t help but trust him. While the man he replaced, Lou Anarumo, put on an epic showcase of schematic mastery for the Colts, Golden answered with a fourth-quarter shutout of the Browns.
Similar to the myriad weapons in the Bengals’ Joe Burrow-led passing attack, this team has a lot of mouths to feed in the defensive end rotation. Seldom do you want to take Hendrickson off the field. Joseph Ossai is a more proven, established player than Murphy at this point.
But hey, in the event that we get anything resembling a fringe starter’s level of play from Murphy, that will only help Hendrickson and Stewart stay fresher for when games come down to the wire in the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville boasted PFF’s third-best team pass blocking grade in its season-opening 26-10 drubbing of the lowly Carolina Panthers. It stands to reason the Jags’ offensive line will face a far stiffer test on the road in Cincinnati. Time will tell if Myles Murphy is part of that prospective havoc-wreaking effort.
