Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Shemar Stewart
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00:00Fired up about Shamar, a great young man, met with him at the Combine.
00:03I've gotten to know him over this process.
00:06Really fits into our locker room what we're looking for, the effort, the play style.
00:10Al's got a great vision for how to utilize him.
00:13So fired up that he was there and we were able to add him to the mix.
00:16What stands out about him?
00:18Overall athleticism, his effort, his play style, his relentlessness.
00:22I mean, if there's a word you want to define our defense with,
00:24you want 11 guys that are relentless on all snaps.
00:27And I think Shamar fits that to a T.
00:30When you see a player like him, test the way he did the pre-draft process,
00:34do you go back and watch again to make sure that it lines up?
00:38Because obviously you saw the emphasis coming.
00:40Yeah, I mean, the tape, first and foremost.
00:42It's what we've watched from the get-go.
00:44It's what we've always revisited.
00:46It's there.
00:47The people you talk to, you know, they stand up for them
00:49and have always loved the player and the kid.
00:51So we're just glad to add them to the mix.
00:53How do you balance the ladder?
00:55Or as much production as you'd like to see versus the projection?
01:00How much of that's what you're trying to balance?
01:02We anticipate getting a lot of production out of him.
01:04You know, I've got great faith in our coaches that, you know,
01:08there was a lot of near production, obviously, there,
01:10as you watch all the clips of him.
01:12But, again, we see a tremendous football player who's going to come in
01:15and help us and be really productive for us.
01:17How much of what he can do, Zach, is also second-edge?
01:22Is there that aspect?
01:23No, he's physical.
01:24I mean, he's got the dimensions.
01:26He's got the speed.
01:27He's got the physicalness.
01:28He's got the effort.
01:30You know, so there's tremendous traits there that we're excited to work with.
01:33Charlie, go ahead, Charlie.
01:34You knew what the coaching staff had vision for him at A&M West,
01:36but you also talked that the role he was in wasn't necessarily conducive
01:40to a lot of sack production.
01:41Is that what you saw?
01:42They had a really talented defense.
01:44And so you just look at guys that we've evaluated all across their defense, really.
01:48So you can see why.
01:49There's production to be had all over the defense with other guys,
01:52and he did a great job doing his job.
01:53And so, again, we've got tremendous confidence, faith in him,
01:56and that's why we took him and really excited to get him in here.
01:59When you all scouted the game last year,
02:01did Shamar kind of start jumping off the tape?
02:03I think A&M's had a lot of players jump off the tape at you
02:06over the last several years.
02:08So this is no different.
02:09They've had really talented defenses.
02:11They've got several guys in this draft, several guys in previous drafts.
02:14And so I think Shamar's done a good job, you know,
02:18earning playing time over the years with a lot of talented players
02:21on that side of the ball.
02:21How important is it that the disruptive you see him with 39 pressures?
02:25The sacks might not have been there.
02:26Right.
02:27How much do you weigh, weigh that?
02:28Yeah.
02:29So, I mean, you'd love to see the stat where other guys got great production
02:32because of what he costs, you know, and just –
02:35so, again, that's what shows up on every single play.
02:38That's what we know we're going to get out of him.
02:39So, we're going to do an outstanding job, you know, creating a role for him
02:43and coaching him within our defense.
02:45And whether it's the opportunities that come his way
02:47or opportunities he creates for other people,
02:49it doesn't matter to me as long as we're productive on defense.
02:51How rare is it to have a guy get around the quarterback
02:55that much of a player in the second half?
02:57I can't speak to how rare that is or not.
03:01We're just excited that he was there when we picked.
03:03Zach, you studied –
03:04I'll get you next.
03:04Mike.
03:04You studied Premier Ed Trushers all the time with your game planning.
03:07I get some of the ones in your division.
03:09And what about Shemar's – like, everybody talks about his physical skill set
03:13and that's what excites everybody.
03:14Like, what specifically about his physical skill set has you most excited?
03:19He's a tremendous athlete.
03:20And so, again, you've got to be aware of him.
03:22The quarterback's got to be aware of him.
03:23Play caller's got to be aware of him.
03:25Tackle's got to do a great job defending against him.
03:27And so, again, we're just excited about what he can bring to the table.
03:31Go ahead, Mike.
03:31In the interview process with him, Zach, what stood out?
03:34Was that competitiveness?
03:35Yeah, I would agree with all that.
03:38You know, there was confidence.
03:39There was competitiveness.
03:41You know, he's earned everything he's got in life.
03:43You know, just hearing his story growing up and where he's gotten to now.
03:47And so, again, really excited to get to know him even better once he gets in the building
03:51and get around him a little bit more.
03:53But we're fired up about him.
03:54Zach, how do you see him fitting in the room?
03:55And obviously there's going to be a question about what this might be for Ed Jensen.
03:58No, it's not a story about anybody else.
04:01It's just I don't think you can ever have enough D linemen, especially in this league, in this division.
04:06So it doesn't speak to anybody else that's on our football team.
04:09It's just adding another weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh
04:14and keep guys coming after the quarterback and being relentless against the run.
04:17And so, again, this just speaks to how we want to play football.
04:21We want a stout defense.
04:22And a lot of times that starts up front.
04:24And so I think adding pieces to that puzzle up front is always a helpful thing for us.
04:29Is there a sort of type of bench rusher that the AFC board in particular needs?
04:32The way that the ball is played here?
04:33I think you can look at a lot of these different guys,
04:37and they're all in different shapes and sizes.
04:38So I wouldn't say you can just put it in one little box that this is the type of rusher that succeeds.
04:43And there's different types of quarterbacks and their style at play.
04:48So, again, teams may look at us differently,
04:50and we need a different style to play against Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson
04:54or, you know, the other guys that are in the division.
04:56Is it fair to say that you think he can contribute right away
04:58and join your number of defensive ends?
05:00I do.
05:00Just from what I know about him, now guys are going to have to earn their way.
05:03You know, so when he gets here, he's going to have to earn it.
05:06And from what I know about him, the competitiveness,
05:08he's going to be willing to do that.
05:10And so, again, it's difficult to rush and say this guy's going to play this role
05:14and this amount of snaps.
05:15But from what I've seen about him, he's going to come in here and compete
05:17and do everything he can to earn a spot.
05:18What was his reaction?
05:21Excited, emotional.
05:22You know, you can tell there's a lot of people around him.
05:24Hard to glean just off a phone call, but I'm sure he's very excited.