Throughout this offseason, there were a few storylines that stood out. Firstly, will the Bengals extend and re-sign their superstar receivers? Yes. Will the Bengals be aggressive in free agency? No. Trey Hendrickson officially, again, requested a trade. Will the two sides come to an agreement or with they trade him away? Well, with April coming to an end, neither has happened with almost no indication that either will any time soon.
As a result, the Bengals had to fortify the pass rush in the NFL Draft. Even if Hendrickson was extended, the Bengals absolutely needed to add pass-rush juice because Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai have not lived up to expectations. However, if there is a timeline where playing out the contract is the best-case scenario for Hendrickson, it’s ours. Now, the two sides are in an interesting spot.
For the Bengals, it would behoove them to extend Hendrickson, as it has been from the jump. For Hendrickson, playing out his contract and proving it will be his best option.
Trey Hendrickson May Be The Biggest Winner of the Bengals’ Draft
With the 17th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bengals drafted Shemar Stewart, an EDGE from Texas A&M. It was one of the most divisive first-round picks in recent memory, and for good reason. In three seasons (37 games), he amassed a whopping total of 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Most edge rushers in this class were able to do that in one season. However, he can provide the Bengals with something they lacked in 2024: pressure.
Last year, the Bengals’ team totalled 36.0 sacks, 156 pressures, and 51 hurries. Hendrickson, alone, accounted for 17.5 sacks, 54 pressures, and 18 hurries; that’s 48.6% of the sacks, 34.5% of the pressures, and 35.3% of the hurries. If the Bengals want to have a semi-decent pass rush, they need to get more from non-Hendrickson players.
No other Bengal had more than five sacks, 23 pressures, or seven hurries…and that was Ossai’s statline.
The Impact of Stewart
Despite the pedestrian counting stats and production, Stewart is legitimately a freak of nature. His 6’5″, 267-pound build should not move like it does. Among the 2025 NFL Draft class, Stewart was one of two players with a perfect 10.00 RAS.
Shemar Stewart was drafted in round 1 pick 17 in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 10.00 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 2029 DE from 1987 to 2025.https://t.co/CX9z2WcL7t pic.twitter.com/c3UP2fDFZX
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 25, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Most of his impact on the field is not found on the statsheet. According to PFF, Stewart led the Aggies with 39 pressures, and his time to first pressure (2.43 seconds) was the best among all FBS players. The issue, according to Ken Lee Platte, the one who invented the RAS system, was that he “had some problems with finishing his tackles.” Considering how poor the Bengals’ defense was at finishing tackles last year, this could be a massive concern.
Platte believes this is an aspect of his game that can be coached out, and the sheer fact that the Bengals picked him so early makes it apparent that they believe than can fix it.
He’s not just an empty pass rusher, either. His run-defense grade, according to PFF, was fifth-best among all edge defenders at 88.2. Considering Sam Hubbard retired this offseason, Stewart will be a welcome addition there.
Opportunities Down the Defensive Line
Pressures affect the game in ways that don’t stand out on the box score. Stewart averaged 3.25 pressures per game. Not saying pressures in college are anywhere close to what they are in the NFL, but if he were to bring that pace to the Bengals, he’d total around 55 pressures, one better than Hendrickson.
Stewart’s ability to get to the quarterback will net him sacks in the NFL, eventually. However, it’s Hendrickson who will benefit the most.
As it stands, offensive lines can flow to Hendrickson and prioritize taking him out of the play because they know they can neutralize the rest of the Bengals’ pass rush. With Stewart, that should change. Getting pressure from the other side of the line would push quarterbacks into Hendrickson’s waiting arms. Just being a threat is enough to wreck the game, allowing Hendrickson to clean up one what Stewart may not be able to finish (at least to start).
Back to Platte, he’s not worried about Stewart’s lack of production at the college level. Did you know Danielle Hunter only managed 4.5 sacks in his college career? Did you know it was the same for Ziggy Ansah? Both ended up as pretty decent NFL players.
Of course, that’s plenty of projection on Stewart’s case. However, he looks like the type of player who is better as a pro than he is in college. Texas A&M had three defensive ends drafted in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Nic Scourton led the way with five sacks in 2024, followed by Shemar Turner‘s two, then Stewart’s 1.5.
The Aggies had three NFL EDGEs, and none of them had eye-popping stats. Perhaps, Stewart’s fit with the Bengals is significantly better than it was with Texas A&M.
There are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about this pick. However, there are just as many reasons for optimism. Hendrickson should be the most optimistic. Stewart could make the All-Pro’s job much, much easier. And, as a result, he could cash in with a new contract after the season.
Now, the question will be whether or not that contract is with the Bengals or not.
Main Image: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The post Trey Hendrickson May Be The Biggest Winner of the Bengals’ Draft appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.