Bengals' Defensive Line Ready to Get After Opposing Quarterbacks Follow Addition of Myles Murphy

Cincinnati took Murphy in the first round (28th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Author:
Elise Jesse
Publish date:
May 2, 2023 10:22 AM EDT

In this story:

The competition within Cincinnati’s locker room will be at an all-time high when training camp begins ahead of the 2023 NFL season. The Bengals' coaching staff and front office added speed to both sides of the ball in this year’s draft with the addition of cornerback DJ Turner (second round selection) and wide receiver Charlie Jones (fourth round selection).

When it comes to the defensive line, all eyes will be on Cincinnati’s first round pick. They expect Clemson edge rusher Myles Murphy to help the defensive line bring an enormous amount of pressure on the AFC’s most prolific quarterbacks with his size, speed and athleticism.

The 21-year old has plenty of talent and defensive line coach Marion Hobby has the skills to develop him as he makes his transition from college to the National Football League.

The current players in that position group have already seen Murphy’s tape, which has given guys like Joseph Ossai the indication that competition has escalated to a new level.

“It’s going to be intense,” Ossai said. “Especially going against the O-Line. We just beefed up the O-Line pretty good. going up against those guys is going to be good I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun but we are going to push each other to get to the next level, that’s all I’m looking forward to, it’s going to be dope.”

Ossai seems to have a chip on his surgically repaired shoulder (labrum surgery) after a single play hampered one of his best games of the season. His final play of the AFC Championship was a tackle on Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. He was called for a 15-yard penalty which put the Chiefs in the perfect position for the game-winning field goal.

He's still not quite over the play.

“It definitely took a while for me to get out of this slop,” Ossai said. “These guys did a great job of making sure I was around them, my family did a good job of being around me and it is in the past. It’s in the rearview right now and the only thing you can do now is make up for it. That’s a huge makeup though, you’ve got to do a lot to make up for that but I’m looking forward to it this season and the ultimate prize will be going back winning that (AFC Championship) and going to a Super Bowl so I’m excited for that for sure.”

Based on words, Ossai and Murphy sound like they’re already on the same stage before even working together. Over the weekend Murphy told reporters that he wants to help Cincinnati become a regular on the biggest stage in Pro Football.

“They have all the pieces to be a consistent Super Bowl contender, AFC contender,” Murphy said. “I just want to be that finishing piece, that piece that pushes them over and past that ledge of being a consistent Super Bowl contender to being a Super Bowl winner every year.”

Murphy’s addition will certainly alleviate some of the work load that was placed on Sam Hubbard’s shoulders last year when he logged 801 snaps. Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson is expected to have a similar impact and Cam Sample added another year of experience under his belt, this rotation should be able to put heat on top quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and others more uncomfortable in the pock going forward.

“I’m excited,” BJ Hill said of the Bengals drafting Murphy. “He’s definitely going to help us in the room he’s going to help us get more sacks, more pressures stuff like that. I’ve heard only good things about him. He’s going to love this room, we are going to love him. I’m very excited.”

Hill was the only other player on the defensive line who had over 800 snaps (816) last year. It took a couple of weeks for his body to recover and feel good again, but he’s ready for 2023, and he expects Zach Carter to take a big step forward this year after being on the field for 38% of the defensive snaps a year ago.

“Carter is going to take way more snaps this year,” Hill said. “He was young last year and just had to learn a little bit, how the game works and stuff like that. His second year is going to be just fine he’s going to pick up a lot more snaps this year.”

Hobby’s group has depth, and now consistency will be a top priority heading into a new season as they aim to be a group who is higher up on the stat list and pressures. Cincinnati sent a very clear message by drafting Murphy with their first round pick.

After finishing with just 30 sacks and 273 pressures last season, the Bengals are expecting both of those numbers to go up significantly in 2023.

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