Look: Major Outlet Gives Bengals 2023 Draft Class a 'D' Grade After First Season

Cincinnati needs some more impact from the class as a whole moving forward.

Jan 7, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy (99) runs onto the / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI — It's still a little too early to label Cincinnati's 2023 draft class a complete miss, but The Athletic has seen enough to be concerned. Diante Lee graded all 32 classes a year later and handed down a "D" to the Bengals.

DJ Turner II, Jordan Battle, Chase Brown, and Andrei Iosivas showed promise but Lee isn't impressed overall.

"The Bengals took three swings on defense to open the 2023 draft — Myles Murphy (No. 28), DJ Turner II (No. 60), and Jordan Battle (No. 95) — and Turner looks most likely to grow into a full-time starter," Lee wrote. "Battle struggled to grasp the communication and play-to-play responsibilities of Cincinnati’s defense; Murphy didn’t make much of an impact, even as his participation increased."

The class ranked tied for 25th leaguewide in the grading.

Check out how the group of eight picks impacted the 2023 season, with Turner, Battle, and Brown leading the class in Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value thus far.

Courtesy: Pro Football Reference / Courtesy: Pro Football Reference

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