Shemar Stewart Wows With Debut Pro Football Focus Grade Following Bengals Win Over Cleveland

CINCINNATI — Shemar Stewart wasted no time bringing his skills to the table across his Week 1 rookie debut against the Cleveland Browns. Pro Football Focus grades are live from the 17-16 win over Cleveland, and Stewart checked in with the second-highest grade on the Bengals defense at 88.9 overall.

He only trailed Logan Wilson, who posted an 89.4 overall grade. Stewart did not log a tackle or other traditional stat in the contest, but played his role very well and ended up with three pressures on quarterback Joe Flacco.

“Yeah, very calm, collected. That's what I saw," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said to the media postgame about the defensive rookies. "There was a time we had two young linebackers out there; two rookies out there when (Bengals LB) Logan (Wilson) came out. I'm watching just to see their body language. Didn't miss a beat. I think there are a lot of guys that fit that description. All those guys who got in there and got a chance to play. It was not too big for any of them. That'swhy they're here, because they're all built like that. And so we're going to have to call on all these guys as the season progresses.”

It's a nice pillar to build off of moving into Week 2. Stewart took some pressure off of Trey Hendrickson, who graded just behind him at 88.1 overall and ended up with his first sack of the season in the contest.

"I felt great. I mean, you know, practices are going to be easier than ever going against Joe [Burrow] and all the guys on offense. So, you know, I think we're ready for this," Stewart said after the game in front of his locker.

Any early worries about Stewart's raw, wonky on-ramp this spring and summer went out the window once he got his hands on that first Cleveland blocker.

Cincinnati has rarely gotten positive impacts during a first-round pick's opening season, but Stewart is off to a great start in flipping that trend.

Shemar Stewart casually throwing 6’8” 375 lbs Dawand Jones around as a rookie is WILD😳 pic.twitter.com/0DBKmdqfZF
— Bengals Central (@BengalsCentral_) September 8, 2025

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