Shemar Stewart Made a Big Impression on the Bengals, but Did They Make One on Him? After Further Review …

Cincinnati Bengals first round draft pick Shemar Stewart and his dad Moe Marquez show off custom jewelry they had made for each other in the Bengals locker room at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, April 25, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – One of the strangest moment from Thursday night was first-round pick Shemar Stewart telling reporters he never once talked to the Cincinnati Bengals in the lead up to the draft.

He said it on a conference call just a few minutes after head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator spoke about how impressed they were with the Texas A&M edge rusher during their meetings with him at the Combine.

Friday afternoon, Stewart erased the confusion and asked for forgiveness.

“I promise you, my brain's been scrambled,” he said with a laugh. “I had 22 formals, like five informals and 15 (top-30) visits. My brain was just all over the place. Please forgive me, guys.”

No apology needed.

It’s actually not that uncommon of an occurrence. The prospects meet with so many people from so many teams at the Combine, it’s hard to keep them straight.

That’s why they usually just reply “yes” whenever a reporter asks if they met with Team A, B or Z.

Taylor opened his news conference after the team selected Stewart by talking about their introduction in Indianapolis.

“Shemar is a great young man,” Taylor said. “I met him at the Combine and got to know him a little bit through this process. He really fits into our locker room with the effort we’re looking for and play style.”

Golden also referenced the Combine interview when asked about Stewart’s ability to understand principles of a defensive scheme.

“He’s a smart young man,” Golden said. “Our interview was impressive. You’re talking about a Combine interview with 12 people in the room and everyone came away (with a) very favorable grade for him, so that was impressive.”

After arriving in Cincinnati and getting reacquainted with Taylor, Golden, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, Stewart remembered the group.

He talked about a question Montgomery asked him and his reaction to the coaches’ reaction to his answer.

“Coach Montgomery said, 'Describe yourself to me in three words,’” Stewart recalled. “I was like, "Fast, physical, high motor." The whole room just looked around like, 'OK.'

“I was like, 'OK, I done cooked with that one,’” he added with a big belly laugh. “It's been good vibes ever since then. Like I said, it took me a while to remember, but it was good vibes at the meeting.”