Here are some winners and losers from the Bengals selection of Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart.
The Cincinnati Bengals have made it official with the announcement of their selection of Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart with the No. 17 overall pick.
The freakish athlete edge rusher will join a defense that under-performed in 2024, which was one of the major reasons an offense boasting a quarterback who put up MVP-caliber numbers and a wide receiver who won the Triple Crown missed the playoffs.
Here are a few winners and losers from the Bengals’ first-round pick:
Winners
Al Golden
The first draft pick of the Golden era of Bengals’ defense (pun intended) was a defensive player. The last season of the Bengals’ defense under Lou Anarumo was a bad one and it led to his firing. Trey Hendrickson was the only consistent pass rusher, but even though he led the league in sacks, the team was in the bottom third at sacks on a whole.
Golden will come in with a new scheme and a shiny new pass-rushing toy in Stewart.
Trey Hendrickson (maybe)
If the Bengals are able to come to some sort of agreement with Hendrickson, this does nothing but help him out. Think how many more sacks he could have if he had a consistent rusher from the other side pushing the quarterback right towards into his arms instead of running away from him.
This is a passing league. You can’t have too many pass rushers.
Defensive tackles
The issue with having only one productive edge rusher is the quarterback can step up into the pocket and take his time. With two productive edge rushers, that pocket becomes smaller and forces the quarterback right into oncoming defensive tackles. If Stewart can produce from the start and if Hendrickson sticks around, everybody along the line will benefit from his addition.
The secondary
No, the Bengals didn’t select a corner or safety to add to a secondary that struggled in 2024, but they did add a pass rusher that can potentially cut down on the time the opposing quarterback has to throw, and that’s almost as good. It doesn’t matter who a team’s defensive backs are, if a quarterback has all day to throw, someone will get open.
Hopefully Stewart forces opposing quarterbacks to think twice about holding on to the ball.
Cordell Volson and Cody Ford
With the Bengals opting to not select an offensive guard, we’re another step closer to seeing Cordell Volson and Cody Ford as the starting guards next season. Not what any fan of offensive line play will want to see, but for now, Volson and Ford remain in good shape to be starters in 2025.
Losers
Joe Burrow
Right now the starting guards in front of Burrow will be selected from a pool consisting of Cordell Volson, Cody Ford, Lucas Patrick and Jaxson Kirkland. The Bengals have bookend tackles in Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims, but they need some major help at guard to make sure Burrow stays upright and healthy.
Hopefully, the Bengals address the position on Friday night.
Joseph Ossai
Ossai finished the season on a nice streak that saw him rack up five sacks over the last seven games of the season. He stepped into the starting role when Sam Hubbard was lost for the year, and he showed he has what it takes to be a solid edge rusher. He signed back with the Bengals on a one-year deal earlier this offseason, and he was likely looking to compete with Myles Murphy for the starting role opposite Hendrickson.
Now he has more competition.
Myles Murphy
Murphy is in the same boat as Ossai. He’s still on his rookie contract but has failed, so far, to live up to his first-round billing. If the Bengals retain Hendrickson and Stewart is as good as advertised, Murphy could be looking at a role as a special teams contributor and a rotational guy to give starters a breather.
Trey Hendrickson (maybe)
The Bengals were able to come to long-term agreements for both star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but they haven’t been able to ink the 2024 sack leader to an extension. Hendrickson has made his position clear, and for a while, it looked like the two sides may come to an agreement, but now they seem as far apart as ever.
This could be a sign that the Bengals are prepared to move on from Hendrickson, possibly by changing their stance on what they’ll accept as trade compensation. If the Bengals pull that trigger, Stewart, Murphy, and Ossai would be the only edge rushers in town.
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Who are your winners and losers?