Bengals' Shemar Stewart pick almost became Detroit's boldest draft heist

With the 17th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected Texas A&M pass-rusher Shemar Stewart, who they hope can be a wrecking ball for them for the foreseeable future. According to Mike Payton of A to Z Sports, the Detroit Lions might have been hoping to snag Stewart instead.

Payton discussed how on the second day of the draft, Lions GM Brad Holmes said, "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."

"Ok, so there's the proof that the Lions attempted to trade up for one. Why do we think it was Stewart? 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," Payton wrote.

Lions might have tried to pull off draft heist by stealing Shemar Stewart from Bengals

Payton did make it a point to say that this was simply a hunch and not a known fact but it wouldn't surprise anyone if it was true. The Lions needed help in their pass rushing department and while they ultimately "settled" on Tyleik Williams later in the first round, they clearly loved Stewart and would have been elated to move up and add him to their defense.

Fortunately, the Bengals were able to land the coveted edge rusher and while Stewart has been criticized for only having 4.5 sacks during his college career, film doesn't always tell the whole story. The Bengals desperately need help when it comes to getting after the quarterback and Stewart should hopefully help fill in the gaps in Cincinnati.

Had the Lions pulled off this move, they'd certainly have been applauded for it. Who knows what direction Cincinnati would have gone in from there (perhaps they'd have taken Tyleik Williams instead) but luckily, that's a timeline we don't have to worry about.