Top NFL Analyst Hopes Bengals Change How They Use Shemar Stewart Moving Forward

CINCINNATI — Bengals first round pick Shemar Stewart made his debut on Thursday night against the Eagles.

He had one tackle—bringing down A.J. Dillon for a two-yard loss in the backfield.

NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger was impressed with Stewart's debut, but wants the Bengals to put him in more 1-on-1 pass rushing situations next week in Washington.

"Good job, good chase right here. He played 18 snaps," Baldinger said. "That ball should have been intercepted. But, I thought Shemar Stewart did some good things. Way too many stunts inside for me. Just let him win his one-on-ones. Half his pass rushes were stunts and twists inside."

The Bengals selected Stewart in the first round (17th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. He's been disruptive in practice and is off to a good start this preseason.

"Considering everything you know, today was good. Made a mistake here and there, but overall, it was a pretty good day. Pretty good day," Stewart said. "You've got to build yourself up sometime. We've got to take every little one you get. So hopefully, next time, next week, I probably could get there faster a little bit."

Check out Baldinger's breakdown of Stewart below:

.@Bengals @ShemarStewart14 played 18 plays last night. Had a tackle for loss and got to the QB...I would like to see him go 1 on 1 more in his pass rushes. #whodey. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/SXzYRiaytz
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 8, 2025

First Team Offense

Stewart was a bright spot on the Bengals' defense, but the first team offense was the star of the night.

“I felt really good about what they did,” head coach Zac Taylor said on Thursday night. “You can’t help who you are playing against. Philly just won the Super Bowl. They’ve got great depth on their team and they got, look at the roster, they’ve got really good players on defense. It’s not their starters out there, but I was still happy with how they went out there and did their jobs and were able to get 14 points on the board.”

The Bengals practice on Saturday and Sunday. They don't play their next preseason game until Monday, Aug. 18 in Washington.

That gives Al Golden's defense time to make adjustments and fix the issues they had against the Eagles.

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