Myles Murphy, a rookie, is improving because the Bengals are giving him more playing time.
Education is an odd endeavor. Nobody ever succeeds at something they try for the first time, so if you are good at something the first time, I wish you all the bad things in the world.
In any case, failing teaches us how to make mistakes, which is another way to learn. If we don’t try and then fail at things, we won’t be able to grow as people.
It’s the same with football players. If new players aren’t allowed to fail, they won’t be able to learn. Myles Murphy, a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, experienced something similar earlier in the season.
Murphy struggled to get meaningful snaps early in the season because Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, and Joseph Ossai ate them all up. However, starting around Week 10, injuries forced Lou Anarumo to start playing Murphy more.
Murphy has since increased his number of snaps played in a game by twofold over his previous average. And it’s becoming evident.
His 13.3% pass rush win rate, third on the team, is evidence of his growth as a pass rusher. If you want to get really technical, when you take into consideration players who have played more than 100 pass-rushing snaps, he actually ranks second behind Trey Hendrickson (ADG is first, but he only has six snaps where he rushed the passer, according to PFF).
This year has been amazing for Hendrickson. There are still four games remaining, and he is only half a sack away from breaking the Bengals single-season sack record of 14 set in 2021. He’s expected to reach eighteen, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he reached twenty or more. Players with those stats are usually mentioned when discussing defensive players of the year. In addition, he currently has a contract that expires after the 2025 campaign.
Murphy will keep getting better, and the Bengals pass rush might be as dangerous as it has ever been if he can just refine a few moves to get past the opposing lineman.
And failure is where it all begins.
Fortunately, he can accomplish that thanks to the Bengals.
