NFL Draft Rumors: Detroit Lions May Have Tried to Trade Up For Bengals First Round Pick Shemar Stewart

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart in the first round (17th overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft last week.

Stewart, 21, was a divisive prospect during the pre-draft process. He has all of the physical traits needed to be an elite pass rusher and got after opposing quarterbacks last season (39 pressures), but only had 1.5 sacks in 2024.

Despite his divisiveness, at least one NFC contender might've tried to trade up for Stewart. Mike Payton of A to Z Sports believes the Lions were interested in moving up for him.

"I think the Lions tried to trade up for Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart on Thursday night." Payton wrote, citing a quote from Lions general manager Brad Holmes from day two of the draft:

"I don’t need to get into specifics, but there were times we made attempts to get one, and you just – they got picked before, you couldn’t get up. It takes two to trade."

Payton believes that Detroit's pre-draft visits might've tipped their hand.

"So there's the proof that the Lions attempted to trade up for one. Why do we think it was Stewart?," Payton asked. "It's all based on the top-30 visits. The Lions really seem to love picking the guys they have in for those visits. Isaac TeSlaa and Tyleik Williams are more proof of that. We'll probably find Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier came in too at some point. The Lions had just three edge rushers in for 30 visits, and only one of them was a first-round guy. That was Stewart. He wound up going 17th to the Bengals."

The Lions ultimately drafted Williams in the first round—a guy they brought in for a pre-draft visit.

There are plenty of teams in NFL circles that held Stewart in high regard. He was in consideration for the San Francisco 49ers at pick 11. The same goes for the Dallas Cowboys at pick 12.

Ultimately, the Bengals were able to get him with the 17th pick. For more on Stewart's fit with Cincinnati, go here.

Check out Payton's entire column on the Lions here.