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Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Shemar Stewart
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
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4/27/2025
Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Shemar Stewart
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
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00:00
Fired up about Shamar, a great young man, met with him at the Combine.
00:03
I've gotten to know him over this process.
00:06
Really fits into our locker room what we're looking for, the effort, the play style.
00:10
Al's got a great vision for how to utilize him.
00:13
So fired up that he was there and we were able to add him to the mix.
00:16
What stands out about him?
00:18
Overall athleticism, his effort, his play style, his relentlessness.
00:22
I mean, if there's a word you want to define our defense with,
00:24
you want 11 guys that are relentless on all snaps.
00:27
And I think Shamar fits that to a T.
00:30
When you see a player like him, test the way he did the pre-draft process,
00:34
do you go back and watch again to make sure that it lines up?
00:38
Because obviously you saw the emphasis coming.
00:40
Yeah, I mean, the tape, first and foremost.
00:42
It's what we've watched from the get-go.
00:44
It's what we've always revisited.
00:46
It's there.
00:47
The people you talk to, you know, they stand up for them
00:49
and have always loved the player and the kid.
00:51
So we're just glad to add them to the mix.
00:53
How do you balance the ladder?
00:55
Or as much production as you'd like to see versus the projection?
01:00
How much of that's what you're trying to balance?
01:02
We anticipate getting a lot of production out of him.
01:04
You know, I've got great faith in our coaches that, you know,
01:08
there was a lot of near production, obviously, there,
01:10
as you watch all the clips of him.
01:12
But, again, we see a tremendous football player who's going to come in
01:15
and help us and be really productive for us.
01:17
How much of what he can do, Zach, is also second-edge?
01:22
Is there that aspect?
01:23
No, he's physical.
01:24
I mean, he's got the dimensions.
01:26
He's got the speed.
01:27
He's got the physicalness.
01:28
He's got the effort.
01:30
You know, so there's tremendous traits there that we're excited to work with.
01:33
Charlie, go ahead, Charlie.
01:34
You knew what the coaching staff had vision for him at A&M West,
01:36
but you also talked that the role he was in wasn't necessarily conducive
01:40
to a lot of sack production.
01:41
Is that what you saw?
01:42
They had a really talented defense.
01:44
And so you just look at guys that we've evaluated all across their defense, really.
01:48
So you can see why.
01:49
There's production to be had all over the defense with other guys,
01:52
and he did a great job doing his job.
01:53
And so, again, we've got tremendous confidence, faith in him,
01:56
and that's why we took him and really excited to get him in here.
01:59
When you all scouted the game last year,
02:01
did Shamar kind of start jumping off the tape?
02:03
I think A&M's had a lot of players jump off the tape at you
02:06
over the last several years.
02:08
So this is no different.
02:09
They've had really talented defenses.
02:11
They've got several guys in this draft, several guys in previous drafts.
02:14
And so I think Shamar's done a good job, you know,
02:18
earning playing time over the years with a lot of talented players
02:21
on that side of the ball.
02:21
How important is it that the disruptive you see him with 39 pressures?
02:25
The sacks might not have been there.
02:26
Right.
02:27
How much do you weigh, weigh that?
02:28
Yeah.
02:29
So, I mean, you'd love to see the stat where other guys got great production
02:32
because of what he costs, you know, and just –
02:35
so, again, that's what shows up on every single play.
02:38
That's what we know we're going to get out of him.
02:39
So, we're going to do an outstanding job, you know, creating a role for him
02:43
and coaching him within our defense.
02:45
And whether it's the opportunities that come his way
02:47
or opportunities he creates for other people,
02:49
it doesn't matter to me as long as we're productive on defense.
02:51
How rare is it to have a guy get around the quarterback
02:55
that much of a player in the second half?
02:57
I can't speak to how rare that is or not.
03:01
We're just excited that he was there when we picked.
03:03
Zach, you studied –
03:04
I'll get you next.
03:04
Mike.
03:04
You studied Premier Ed Trushers all the time with your game planning.
03:07
I get some of the ones in your division.
03:09
And what about Shemar's – like, everybody talks about his physical skill set
03:13
and that's what excites everybody.
03:14
Like, what specifically about his physical skill set has you most excited?
03:19
He's a tremendous athlete.
03:20
And so, again, you've got to be aware of him.
03:22
The quarterback's got to be aware of him.
03:23
Play caller's got to be aware of him.
03:25
Tackle's got to do a great job defending against him.
03:27
And so, again, we're just excited about what he can bring to the table.
03:31
Go ahead, Mike.
03:31
In the interview process with him, Zach, what stood out?
03:34
Was that competitiveness?
03:35
Yeah, I would agree with all that.
03:38
You know, there was confidence.
03:39
There was competitiveness.
03:41
You know, he's earned everything he's got in life.
03:43
You know, just hearing his story growing up and where he's gotten to now.
03:47
And so, again, really excited to get to know him even better once he gets in the building
03:51
and get around him a little bit more.
03:53
But we're fired up about him.
03:54
Zach, how do you see him fitting in the room?
03:55
And obviously there's going to be a question about what this might be for Ed Jensen.
03:58
No, it's not a story about anybody else.
04:01
It's just I don't think you can ever have enough D linemen, especially in this league, in this division.
04:06
So it doesn't speak to anybody else that's on our football team.
04:09
It's just adding another weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh
04:14
and keep guys coming after the quarterback and being relentless against the run.
04:17
And so, again, this just speaks to how we want to play football.
04:21
We want a stout defense.
04:22
And a lot of times that starts up front.
04:24
And so I think adding pieces to that puzzle up front is always a helpful thing for us.
04:29
Is there a sort of type of bench rusher that the AFC board in particular needs?
04:32
The way that the ball is played here?
04:33
I think you can look at a lot of these different guys,
04:37
and they're all in different shapes and sizes.
04:38
So I wouldn't say you can just put it in one little box that this is the type of rusher that succeeds.
04:43
And there's different types of quarterbacks and their style at play.
04:48
So, again, teams may look at us differently,
04:50
and we need a different style to play against Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson
04:54
or, you know, the other guys that are in the division.
04:56
Is it fair to say that you think he can contribute right away
04:58
and join your number of defensive ends?
05:00
I do.
05:00
Just from what I know about him, now guys are going to have to earn their way.
05:03
You know, so when he gets here, he's going to have to earn it.
05:06
And from what I know about him, the competitiveness,
05:08
he's going to be willing to do that.
05:10
And so, again, it's difficult to rush and say this guy's going to play this role
05:14
and this amount of snaps.
05:15
But from what I've seen about him, he's going to come in here and compete
05:17
and do everything he can to earn a spot.
05:18
What was his reaction?
05:21
Excited, emotional.
05:22
You know, you can tell there's a lot of people around him.
05:24
Hard to glean just off a phone call, but I'm sure he's very excited.
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