Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Shemar Stewart

Cincinnati Bengals On SI

Transcript

00:00Fired up about Shamar, a great young man, met with him at the Combine.

00:03I've gotten to know him over this process.

00:06Really fits into our locker room what we're looking for, the effort, the play style.

00:10Al's got a great vision for how to utilize him.

00:13So fired up that he was there and we were able to add him to the mix.

00:16What stands out about him?

00:18Overall athleticism, his effort, his play style, his relentlessness.

00:22I mean, if there's a word you want to define our defense with,

00:24you want 11 guys that are relentless on all snaps.

00:27And I think Shamar fits that to a T.

00:30When you see a player like him, test the way he did the pre-draft process,

00:34do you go back and watch again to make sure that it lines up?

00:38Because obviously you saw the emphasis coming.

00:40Yeah, I mean, the tape, first and foremost.

00:42It's what we've watched from the get-go.

00:44It's what we've always revisited.

00:46It's there.

00:47The people you talk to, you know, they stand up for them

00:49and have always loved the player and the kid.

00:51So we're just glad to add them to the mix.

00:53How do you balance the ladder?

00:55Or as much production as you'd like to see versus the projection?

01:00How much of that's what you're trying to balance?

01:02We anticipate getting a lot of production out of him.

01:04You know, I've got great faith in our coaches that, you know,

01:08there was a lot of near production, obviously, there,

01:10as you watch all the clips of him.

01:12But, again, we see a tremendous football player who's going to come in

01:15and help us and be really productive for us.

01:17How much of what he can do, Zach, is also second-edge?

01:22Is there that aspect?

01:23No, he's physical.

01:24I mean, he's got the dimensions.

01:26He's got the speed.

01:27He's got the physicalness.

01:28He's got the effort.

01:30You know, so there's tremendous traits there that we're excited to work with.

01:33Charlie, go ahead, Charlie.

01:34You knew what the coaching staff had vision for him at A&M West,

01:36but you also talked that the role he was in wasn't necessarily conducive

01:40to a lot of sack production.

01:41Is that what you saw?

01:42They had a really talented defense.

01:44And so you just look at guys that we've evaluated all across their defense, really.

01:48So you can see why.

01:49There's production to be had all over the defense with other guys,

01:52and he did a great job doing his job.

01:53And so, again, we've got tremendous confidence, faith in him,

01:56and that's why we took him and really excited to get him in here.

01:59When you all scouted the game last year,

02:01did Shamar kind of start jumping off the tape?

02:03I think A&M's had a lot of players jump off the tape at you

02:06over the last several years.

02:08So this is no different.

02:09They've had really talented defenses.

02:11They've got several guys in this draft, several guys in previous drafts.

02:14And so I think Shamar's done a good job, you know,

02:18earning playing time over the years with a lot of talented players

02:21on that side of the ball.

02:21How important is it that the disruptive you see him with 39 pressures?

02:25The sacks might not have been there.

02:26Right.

02:27How much do you weigh, weigh that?

02:28Yeah.

02:29So, I mean, you'd love to see the stat where other guys got great production

02:32because of what he costs, you know, and just –

02:35so, again, that's what shows up on every single play.

02:38That's what we know we're going to get out of him.

02:39So, we're going to do an outstanding job, you know, creating a role for him

02:43and coaching him within our defense.

02:45And whether it's the opportunities that come his way

02:47or opportunities he creates for other people,

02:49it doesn't matter to me as long as we're productive on defense.

02:51How rare is it to have a guy get around the quarterback

02:55that much of a player in the second half?

02:57I can't speak to how rare that is or not.

03:01We're just excited that he was there when we picked.

03:03Zach, you studied –

03:04I'll get you next.

03:04Mike.

03:04You studied Premier Ed Trushers all the time with your game planning.

03:07I get some of the ones in your division.

03:09And what about Shemar's – like, everybody talks about his physical skill set

03:13and that's what excites everybody.

03:14Like, what specifically about his physical skill set has you most excited?

03:19He's a tremendous athlete.

03:20And so, again, you've got to be aware of him.

03:22The quarterback's got to be aware of him.

03:23Play caller's got to be aware of him.

03:25Tackle's got to do a great job defending against him.

03:27And so, again, we're just excited about what he can bring to the table.

03:31Go ahead, Mike.

03:31In the interview process with him, Zach, what stood out?

03:34Was that competitiveness?

03:35Yeah, I would agree with all that.

03:38You know, there was confidence.

03:39There was competitiveness.

03:41You know, he's earned everything he's got in life.

03:43You know, just hearing his story growing up and where he's gotten to now.

03:47And so, again, really excited to get to know him even better once he gets in the building

03:51and get around him a little bit more.

03:53But we're fired up about him.

03:54Zach, how do you see him fitting in the room?

03:55And obviously there's going to be a question about what this might be for Ed Jensen.

03:58No, it's not a story about anybody else.

04:01It's just I don't think you can ever have enough D linemen, especially in this league, in this division.

04:06So it doesn't speak to anybody else that's on our football team.

04:09It's just adding another weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh

04:14and keep guys coming after the quarterback and being relentless against the run.

04:17And so, again, this just speaks to how we want to play football.

04:21We want a stout defense.

04:22And a lot of times that starts up front.

04:24And so I think adding pieces to that puzzle up front is always a helpful thing for us.

04:29Is there a sort of type of bench rusher that the AFC board in particular needs?

04:32The way that the ball is played here?

04:33I think you can look at a lot of these different guys,

04:37and they're all in different shapes and sizes.

04:38So I wouldn't say you can just put it in one little box that this is the type of rusher that succeeds.

04:43And there's different types of quarterbacks and their style at play.

04:48So, again, teams may look at us differently,

04:50and we need a different style to play against Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson

04:54or, you know, the other guys that are in the division.

04:56Is it fair to say that you think he can contribute right away

04:58and join your number of defensive ends?

05:00I do.

05:00Just from what I know about him, now guys are going to have to earn their way.

05:03You know, so when he gets here, he's going to have to earn it.

05:06And from what I know about him, the competitiveness,

05:08he's going to be willing to do that.

05:10And so, again, it's difficult to rush and say this guy's going to play this role

05:14and this amount of snaps.

05:15But from what I've seen about him, he's going to come in here and compete

05:17and do everything he can to earn a spot.

05:18What was his reaction?

05:21Excited, emotional.

05:22You know, you can tell there's a lot of people around him.

05:24Hard to glean just off a phone call, but I'm sure he's very excited.

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