ESPN analyst projects Bengals to land Texas A&M’s star defensive player in 2025 draft after spending $161,000,000 on Ja’Marr Chase

After spending big money to bring back some key offensive weapons, the Cincinnati Bengals may be looking for a stud on the other side of the ball in this year’s draft. It could be Shemar Stewart, a defensive end out of Texas A&M who ESPN analyst Mel Kiper projects could fall to the team with the 17th overall pick.

The draft may be its best option to add some much-needed defensive depth after it extended wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on a four-year $161 million deal on Sunday, along with Tee Higgins on a four-year $115 million contract.

"His 4.5 sacks over three college seasons are unexpected from a player of his talent," Kiper wrote on Monday. "If he puts it all together, though, Stewart has the upside to become a double-digit sack guy."

Stewart put up excellent numbers at the Combine, leaping 40 inches in the vertical jump and running the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds.

In his NFL scouting report, Stewart’s positive attributes include his tremendous size, strength and explosiveness, combined with exceptional chase speed to close hard off the backside. His drawbacks are that he sometimes tends to get pushed off his base and allows blockers into his frame.

He could be highly disruptive despite of his low sack totals, and with the right coaching, could also be a solid pass rusher in the NFL.

Bengals need defensive depth

One player who would likely be thrilled to see a new highly-touted defensive end in Cincinnati is its star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson. He has carried this team in the sack department, leading the league with 17.5 in 2024. As a team, the Bengals only registered 36 sacks last season and Hendrickson could use a little help in that area.

Hendrickson is a four-time Pro Bowler, who was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time last season. He’s had 17.5 sacks in back-to-back campaigns and has recorded over a dozen five times in his NFL career.

When teams were able to neutralize Hendrickson, they put up some big numbers against the Cincinnati defense. In 2024, the Bengals were 25th in the league in yards allowed per game (348.3).

Outside of Hendrickson, no one on the Bengals’ defensive line has had double-digit sacks in a single season since Geno Atkins had 10 in 2018.