The Green Bay Packers drafted pass rusher Lukas Van Ness with the No. 13 overall pick a couple of years ago in a move that hasn’t worked out.
The Cincinnati Bengals just selected edge defender Shemar Stewart with the No. 17 pick in the first round of the NFL draft and can’t get him signed and into training camp. The situation has gotten so bad, in fact, that Stewart may end up foregoing his rookie year in 2025 and reentering next year’s draft in the hopes of landing elsewhere.
Stewart is relatively unproven after producing only 4.5 sacks across three years (37 games played) at Texas A&M, but his physical attributes afford the 21-year-old undeniable star upside at the NFL level. He stands at 6-feet, 7-inches tall and weighs 267 pounds. He also registered a 4.59-second 40-yard dash and a 40-inch vertical leap ahead of the draft.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently criticized the Bengals for failing to agree to terms with Stewart after spending first-round draft capital to acquire him, particularly in the context of the team’s ongoing contract extension dispute with reigning NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson.
“It should be relatively simple to sign a first-round draft pick,” Schefter said during an appearance on the June 12 edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
But, if Cincinnati really can’t or won’t get a deal done with Stewart, trading him out of conference to a team like the Packers for something real is better than losing him for nothing.
Such was the logic behind a recent trade proposal from Mitch Milani of Bleacher Report, who named Green Bay the second-best landing spot for Stewart behind only the NFC Division rival Chicago Bears.
“The Green Bay Packers could send Lukas Van Ness and a third-round pick for Shemar Stewart. Van Ness hasn’t exactly worked out as a first-round talent for the Packers — good against the run, steady player, he could help the Bengals for sure,” Milani said. “At the same time, [Green Bay needs] to boost this pass rush, add some upside for this Packers defense, and Stewart might be a better fit for this current version of this Packers defense.”
Based on Stewart’s draft position, his rookie scale contract should be roughly $19 million over four years with a fifth-year team option included given his status as a first-round pick.
