The Cincinnati Bengals have made a point to stick to their board in recent years, often outright forsaking need in the process.
Director of player personnel Duke Tobin has feasted with multiple stellar classes as a result, with early returns suggesting the 2023 draft is more of the same.
And at the top of the list? The selection of defensive end Myles Murphy in the first round, based on this noteworthy comment from Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com: “And their board was so kind to the Bengals this weekend. They graded edge rusher Myles Murphy, who they got at No. 28, like he was a top ten guy.”
Of course, the Bengals happened to need a pass-rusher too, which helped marry the value and need quite well. But we’ve opined since the selection multiple times that Murphy looked like he was built in a lab specifically for the Bengals defense for a reason.
That sort of huge grade on Murphy would at least partially explain why the team ignored trade-down calls before selecting him and the pick has since been described as the biggest steal of the first round.
None of this guarantees Murphy will work out, but the scouting department has been pretty reliable in these spots over the years and especially so recently. If it does work out, the fact that they had him ranked near the top 10 will be another affirmation of their process.
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Story originally appeared on Bengals Wire