Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart (97) walks for the injury tent in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 2 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. The Bengals came back from a halftime deficit to win 31-27. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Shemar Stewart Graded As NFL's Worst 2025 First-Round Pick, NFL Edge Rusher

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Nov 19, 2025 6:59 AM ET

Shemar Stewart's rookie season in Cincinnati can't be going much worse. He held out all offseason and has played in just five games due to injury.

Those games have brought out abysmal showings from Stewart outside of the opening week win over Cleveland. Stewart is currently the lowest-graded rookie in the 2025 class on Pro Football Focus and ranks last among 120 total qualified edge rushers across the entire NFL with a 36.9 grade.

He's currently on injured reserve and can't control that aspect of this season on the injury front, but the numbers are the numbers. It marks another campaign where Cincinnati gets no positive, consistent impact on winning from their first-round pick.

Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Burrow are the only players who've impacted the team well in their opening seasons this decade among top Bengals picks.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor discussed his lingering injury this week. Stewart will miss a few more games on IR.

“Well, you had all that time to gather all the information to decide if we thought it was gonna be a four-week injury or not, which it is,” Taylor said about the knee injury. “We had through the bye week, and then all the way up to Saturday before, so there was really no reason to do it before then, even though we knew that’s where it was trending.”

Stewart has rushed the passer 109 times and has mustered just eight pressures according to PFF. He has just four tackles this season.