Bengals rookie was shocked to have fallen so far in the draft
If you followed the NFL Draft closely, you would've thought Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy was going to be picked a lot earlier than he was. Sure enough, the Cincinnati Bengals were able to snag him with the 28th overall pick in the first round.Analysts and fans alike were surprised to see Murphy fall that […]
If you followed the NFL Draft closely, you would've thought Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy was going to be picked a lot earlier than he was. Sure enough, the Cincinnati Bengals were able to snag him with the 28th overall pick in the first round.
Analysts and fans alike were surprised to see Murphy fall that far, and now, we can add Murphy himself to the list as well.
In an appearance on the Bleav in Bengals podcast with former Bengals defensive back Solomon Wilcots, the 21-year old pass rusher described his initial feelings on landing with the Bengals much later than he expected to go off the board.
More than anything, shock was the first thing to come to mind, followed quickly by excitement.
"I can't believe teams let me go on to this team," Murphy said of his initial reaction Wilcox. 'That was literally the first thought, and let's make plays really, yeah."
Murphy was a consensus top-20 player in this year's class, and one of the top edge rushers. As it turned out, four defensive lineman went ahead of Murphy, three of them being guys on the edge. The first round just never saw that run on the position until Murphy finally came off the board.
The wait took about three hours for the Atlanta-area native, who started for three years at Clemson. Seeing name after name go off the board while waiting for the phone to ring had helped fuel Murphy with motivation to prove teams that had passed on him wrong.
"I guess that's one of the that's one of the feelings that was in my body, yeah."
Murphy, who labeled his biggest attribute as being "disruptive," will certainly get chances to make plays for the Bengals' defense. Cincinnati was one of the worst teams in the NFL last year finishing sacks, partly due to depth issues towards the end of the season.
The addition of Murphy will help keep starters Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard fresh throughout the year, and maximize the talents of the the entire defensive end group.
Though his fall was a bit shocking, Murphy becoming one of the better value picks from this draft will not be much of a surprise.
