3 Bengals rookies who must play more in Week 2 vs. Ravens (and who they should replace)

Myles Murphy (over Zach Carter)

This is nothing against Zach Carter. He played fairly well in the limited snaps he played, even tipping a pass that would lead to an interception by Dax Hill (his first), but I'd much rather see the first-round pick Myles Murphy see more snaps than him moving forward. Now, unlike Chase Brown, Murphy actually did see the field a little bit, but Carter got to see it substantially more than he did as the main rotational edge rusher.

Carter would finish the game with 31 defensive snaps (approximately 42% of all plays on defense) while Murphy saw just 13 (approximately 18%). It's true that the Clemson product also wasn't that impressive in the preseason, but he's still a first-round pick and should be on the field more than he was in the season opener. Not that he should start over Trey Hendrickson or Sam Hubbard, but there's a middle ground here, and that middle ground is getting more or the same snaps as Zach Carter.

I understand that the Bengals are in win-now mode and they don't necessarily need to see what they have in their rookies immediately as a rebuilding team might, but Murphy was also their first pick in a draft where they were shooting for the best player available. I don't see why he wouldn't get more opportunities, especially to help with something that has struggled as much as the pass rush has over the past year.

Out of everyone on this list, Murphy is the most likely to see the field more as the season progresses, so even if his snap count doesn't increase this week in the Bengals' home opener, I wouldn't be too worried.