When the Cincinnati Bengals entered the NFL Draft in April, they had one goal in mind, at least at the beginning, and that was to stock up on defensive talent.

It kicked off with edge rusher Myles Murphy in the first round who is coming off a productive career at Clemson with 18.5 sacks, 36 tackles for loss, and six forced fumbles. 

Cincinnati has a formidable starting dou on the edge with Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. So Murphy will have to keep grinding to earn more reps. However, the Bengals have a plan for how they want to use him.

The combination of size and speed that Murphy displayed at his Clemson pro day has been evident during offseason workouts. He has looked as explosive as advertised in the team's position drills. Murphy's reps have predominantly been with the backups, but the Bengals had a handful of 7-on-7 reps during mandatory minicamp. Cincinnati wants Murphy to be on the field for key pass-rushing situations as the Bengals try to increase their pressure rate. Murphy already has an approval stamp from receiver Tee Higgins, a fellow former Clemson player.

"Lot of my friends that played with him say he's a good guy," Higgins said. "Hopefully he can come in and make an impact early." — Ben Baby, ESPN

It makes sense why the Bengals want Murphy to be on the field for critical passing downs seeing as they ranked 29th in sacks in 2022. So having Murphy develop quickly in those situations will give the Bengals a formidable foursome to rush the passer from the edge with himself, Hendrickson, Hubbard, and Joseph Ossai who had 3.5 sacks as a rookie last season. 

One thing that will assist in that is Murphy picking up things fast, and that appears to be the case based on his comments earlier this month. 

“At Clemson, we played a 4-3, 3-4, over, under, Bear, three-man front, dime, a little bit of everything,” Murphy said, via the team's website. “It’s a little bit simpler here and I’m learning it a little faster than I did at Clemson and that’s been a big benefit.”

When a player as talented as Murphy can have his transition to the NFL made easier it spells doom for who has to line up against him.

Bengals rookie shares news that should scare the NFL

The first-round pick is developing quickly in Cincinnati.

Feature image via Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK