CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals added playmaking defensive end Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M with the 17th overall pick Thursday night at the NFL draft.
The Bengals had the 25th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL last season and hope Stewart’s size and speed will help.
“He’s physical,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “He has good dimensions. He has good speed. He has the effort. There’s tremendous traits here.”
Stewart had only 4.5 total sacks across three seasons in college but at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds is seen as having the versatility and skills to make an impact against both the run and the pass. Stewart missed 26.9% of his tackles last year, but the Bengals are showing confidence in their ability to develop him.
“It’s more a vision for how would you utilize him,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “We’re going to utilize him to his strengths. That’s what’s really important. We’re not going to ask him to do anything that he hasn’t already done. We want to take his traits and develop him. This is an ascending player.”
Following the retirement of defensive end Sam Hubbard, the Bengals needed a reliable option at defensive end against the run. Stewart has the frame as well as the strength to contribute in that area in 2025.
“If you can get an edge that’s in that range and can also run like he does, then it just gives you flexibility along the front,” Golden said. “You don’t necessarily have to sub every time you want to get into a different package. There are very few guys at this level that can do that, and he’s one of them.”
How much opportunity Stewart will receive as a pass rusher will likely come down to what the front office decides to do with All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Before the draft, director of player personnel Duke Tobin declined to give an update on where Hendrickson fits into the team’s plans in 2025.
If Hendrickson remains on the roster this season, Stewart will compete with 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy as well as veteran Joseph Ossai for snaps at defensive end. If the Bengals end up trading Hendrickson, then Stewart could end up as a starter.
Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract regardless, and Murphy and Stewart now look like the Bengals’ defensive end duo of the future.
“It’s not a story about anybody else,” Taylor said. “I don’t think you can ever have enough D-linemen, especially in this league and this division. It doesn’t speak to anybody else that’s on this football team. It’s just adding a great weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh.”
The Bengals still have pressing needs at guard, linebacker and safety with five more picks over the final two days of the draft.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By Charlie Goldsmith, The Associated Press
