Bengals defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson played next to his once and future teammate for two years at Texas A&M, and on Friday he talked about why playing with No. 1 pick Shemar Stewart again has him so fired up.
“You get a high-flying, wheeling-dealing son of a gun in Shemar Stewart,” Jackson said with delight. “I never saw him not ask how he could get better. You get a player who affects games.
“Once he understands he can run past people and run through people, he will have the league in lockdown.”
Stewart, an explosive and versatile edge, is also hoping to disrupt Bengals’ history after he chose the No. 97 jersey of Geno Atkins when the ability to wear his Aggies’ No. 4 was not an option in Bengals tradition. When he walked past the locker room mannequin draped in what is now his 97, Stewart stopped to touch it and stare for a fleeting moment.
Atkins, barely 6-1, made it OK to be a short three technique. As long as they were stronger than new rope, microwave quick, and used the height to create impossible leverage. Stewart absorbed the franchise lesson that Atkins has the Bengals’ most defensive Pro Bowls with eight and said at his Paycor Stadium debut Friday that he’d like to match that Pro Bowl number to match the jersey.
Jackson thinks it’s going to benefit everyone involved that Stewart is hooked up with another Bengals legend. This one active. Another edge. NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson.
“Man, it’s going to scary. Trey’s the ultimate competitor and I feel like Trey can definitely push what I want to see out of Shemar,” Jackson said. “Shemar’s always been God-gifted and just talented. He just needs the extra push, the extra gear, and I feel like Trey can push that out of him. You put this kid with that caliber of player to look up to, and the sky’s really the limit.”
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