Cincy Jungle
While starting his career in Cincinnati was less than ideal, Shemar Stewart’s play on the field promises to make us forget about our dark thoughts and unhinged tweets from the past few months.
In spite of getting to Bengals training camp late, Stewart played all over the defensive line in his first preseason game and gave us a glimpse of why the Bengals made him their top pick.
The Bengals need an edge rusher to pair with Trey Hendrickson. Stewart certainly had no problem getting around the edge in this clip.
He wins with speed off the edge, getting a shot in on the quarterback as the ball is thrown. However, much like what we saw from his college tape, Stewart fails to disengage and ends up about a step short of making the tackle.
The talent is ther,e but needs to be refined.
In this clip, Stewart flies down the line of scrimmage to tackle the runner from the back side.
Blitzing the backside of a run play can be a very effective way to stop the play. Stewart is aided by the defensive call that had him stunting toward the play, but it is still an impressive display of athleticism.
What does a smart offensive coordinator do if the backside edge is making tackles?
He runs a boot.
This was hands down Stewart’s best play of the game.
As the play begins, he steps down and engages with the tight end, then, recognizing the boot, he plants a foot in the ground and takes off running.
Notice how wide his path is. He is not aiming for where the quarterback is, but rather where he is going.
If the quarterback doesn’t get rid of the ball quickly, he is toast.
The Bengals don’t have another defensive end with the right kind of athleticism to make this play.
One of the defensive end’s most important jobs is holding the edge, preventing the outside run.
Stewart had a couple of reps like this one where he showed that he can hold his ground on the outside and not get pushed out. However, he does look a bit eager to come off the block and make the play himself rather than focusing on his job. That could come back to bite him at some point.
Stewart also saw some action on this inside.
In the run game, he held up surprisingly well, although he has some work to do before stuffing the inside run will be a strength of his game.
Here we get a look at him rushing the passer from the 3 technique. Ge gets so much penetration that he makes it hard for the defensive end to get around the edge.
Stewart showed in this game that he has the tools to make an immediate impact on the Bengals’ defense, and defensive coordinator Al Golden gave us a glimpse of how he might deploy the versatile rookie. With continued work, Stewart could be an excellent addition in 2025...
