Remember when there was chatter that Shemar Stewart could forego the 2025 NFL campaign and return to college or sit out entirely until 2026? That feels like an eternity ago, especially seeing the rookie defensive end dominate for the Cincinnati Bengals in his regular-season debut. He didn't just stand out among his draft class peers; his showing was up to par with the best in the business.
Don't believe us? Look no further than Pro Football Focus' (PFF) highest-graded edge defenders in Week 1. It won't take long to find Stewart, because he's sixth on the list ($).
The highest-graded edge defenders in Week 1 📊 pic.twitter.com/O0wIq3ejv9
— PFF (@PFF) September 9, 2025
Stewart was ostensibly eager to put the well-chronicled contractual dispute between him and the Bengals in the rearview mirror. His elite physical traits were on full display, and he looked every bit the part of a first-round prospect. A performance like this makes it easy to call what was a uniquely perplexing situation a thing of the past.
Shemar Stewart officially puts contract drama to bed with strong Week 1 performance
Cincinnati's stop unit surprisingly propelled them to their 17-16 road victory over the Cleveland Browns. Superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, reigning triple crown-winning wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Co. had a rough day at the office, to say the least. Nevertheless, Stewart and his bookend pass-rush partner, Trey Hendrickson, led the way after being at the center of drama leading up to the season.
Impressively, Stewart didn't even need a full workload to make his presence felt against the Browns. The Bengals seemingly didn't want to overload him after missing their offseason workouts and the early portion of training camp. He was on the field for slightly below half of Cincinnati's defensive snaps (49 percent), though that didn't matter.
The empty box score doesn't tell the full story, considering the advanced metrics tell us Stewart was an instant difference-maker. He held his own as a run-stopper and pass-rusher, according to PFF, earning strong marks in both and an elite overall score. This year's No. 17 overall pick made life difficult for Browns veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco to the tune of three hurries.
Cincy fell in love with Stewart's 99th-percentile athleticism during the evaluation process, and rightfully so. There were some bumps along the road to reach this point, but those had nothing to do with football. Albeit only one game, the early returns are promising; his talent and upside are apparent.