Synric's Senior Bowl Mock

[*ochocincos*]

(01-31-2025, 04:23 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Seems like the type of guy that Pittsburgh or Baltimore would take in the 3rd, and then stash him deep in the depth chart for  or 3 years, then for him suddenly emerge as a good player. They do it all the time with OL and front 7 guys.

The problem being the Bengals need contributors, NOW...

I thought PFN's blurb about Stewart felt pretty on-point.

They compared Stewart's elite traits but some boom-or-bust potential to the likes of Walker but also Jadeveon Clowney, both 1st overall selections.
Clowney ended up a 3-time All-Star, but he never reached double-digit sacks in a season.
Across his 11-year career, he averaged 7.0 sacks a season.

Walker is on pace after 3 seasons to be better than Clowney sack-wise, but neither contributed much their rookie seasons (Clowney primarily because he only played 4 games).

If Bengals can get someone to step into the DE spot opposite Hendrickson for 2025 who can for sure put up 7+ sacks, that would help allow for someone like Stewart to develop and serve more as a rotational guy his first season. Maybe Hubbard will be back to form after an offseason of recovery, or maybe Murphy is actually ready to take that next step, re-sign Ossai to cover a year, or maybe sign some other veteran for $15 mill or under.

I don't know if you can say though that Clowney really lived up to his 1st round (and especially 1st overall) hype.
Hope Stewart would end up being more productive than Clowney if Bengals were to take him in 1st round.