Bengals show they won't shy away from Clemson players

Myles Murphy was back in his home state when he heard his name called on the Kansas City stage at the NFL draft. (Photo: Kirby Lee / USATODAY)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Apr 28 10:32:06 GMT-04:00 2023

The Cincinnati Bengals don’t believe in the "Clemson curse."

An NFL writer in Milwaukee posted a story late last week about how the Packers, and many other NFL teams, like to stay away from Clemson players. The story said that NFL evaluators feel like Clemson players are spoiled and entitled, and it stated that many of the defensive players turn into busts.

The Cincinnati Bengals – who have made a Super Bowl and an AFC Championship Game the last two seasons – don’t feel that way. The Bengals picked Murphy with the 28th overall pick in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft, the first defensive lineman taken by the Bengals in the first round since Justin Smith back in 2001.

The Bengals feel like they know the Clemson program inside and out and have had success with former Tigers - defensive line coach Marion Hobby was a co-defensive coordinator at Clemson under head coach Dabo Swinney. Murphy's defensive line coach at Clemson, Nick Eason, coached under Bengal head coach Zac Taylor during his first two seasons in Cincinnati. In Taylor's time in Cincinnati he's drafted wide receiver Tee Higgins and right tackle Jackson Carman out of Clemson and tone-setting free-agent-signing nose tackle DJ Reader played for Hobby at Clemson.

"The guys that we've had come out of Clemson all fit that description," Taylor answered when asked about the character of the players he’s drafted. "They do a good job with the program down there first of all — finding the right guys to fit them and what they embody, with all the championships they've played for. Those guys have really fit in well with us as well, and so I think Myles is going to fit in with us perfectly."

Murphy followed consensus Top 5 national status in the 2020 recruiting class with an all-conference career at Clemson from 2020-22. After earning Freshman All-America status in 2020, he earned a 2021 All-America selection from Phil Steele. He played 38 career games with 27 starts for Clemson and joined Gaines Adams, Vic Beasley and Clelin Ferrell as the only Clemson players since 2000 to post multiple seasons with multiple forced fumbles and at least four sacks.

Bengal defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo loves his new end.

“Smart. Mature. Intelligent. Everything you want in a player," Anarumo said. “A relentless guy. Somebody who will fit right in with the group."

Murphy should benefit from immediate playing time behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard.

"He'll be in a rotation right away. We play a ton of D-linemen, so he'll jump right in there and back up Sam and Trey," said Anarumo. "In the mix with those guys. (He'll) be in the third-down rush package and whatever (else) we come up with there. I'm looking forward to get him going right away."