It's time for the Cincinnati Bengals to play their young defenders!

Look, this Bengals team, they invested a lot in two key defenders, and it is time to see what they can do. Let's start here with number 94, the 17th overall pick, Shamar Stewart. Unleash him. You got to play your young defenders. This is what the pre-draft write-up was about Shamar Stewart, and I get it, everyone, everyone said, man, we don't want Shamar Stewart. Well, he was given a round one draft grade by Lance Zierlein. Stewart is carved from granite, possessing a rare blend of traits, explosiveness, and untapped upside. He was projected to be a starter within two years. I get it. A lot of the draft gurus didn't love him. The NFL really loved him, and Lance Zierlein gave him a round one grade. You drafted him for this reason, for Sunday, for the, all right, well. One of our key pass rushers went down. It is time for Shamar Stewart to play significant snaps against the Atlanta Falcons. And if he is not ready for that, well, then I'm going to take these keys and I'm going to ship him somewhere. It is that simple. Either Shamar is part of your plan and can help you, or he is not part of your plan. And now is when the rubber meets the road with Cassius Howe on injured reserve. I would play Shamar Stewart. Stewart, you have to if you're going to. Get out of him what you expected to get out of him when you made him the 17th overall pick. And I have more thoughts on Shamar Stewart, but it isn't just Shamar Stewart. No, it's Takario Davis as well. Takario Davis didn't play a defensive snap the other day, Marissa. Didn't play a defensive snap the other day. DJ Turner goes down, and guess what? They drafted this guy for a reason. Takario Davis was someone they targeted because they thought he could be an outside corner, develop into a starting outside corner for them. And it's because he's long-armed, he had the wingspan they were looking for, he's tall, he's rangy, and he's going to complement DJ Turner and Dax Hill very, very well. Well, guess what? If DJ Turner's less than 100%, or if he can't go, I don't want to be talking about Dax Hill, Josh Newton, and DJ Ivy, and not Takario Davis as well. You drafted him for a reason. And that's what I think is really interesting here is, Either they're just way, way wrong on their evaluations, which is very, very possible and makes sense to make a move at the deadline, which we do on Give Me the Keys all the time, or this is the perfect time to unleash these two young defenders that you spent premium draft capital on. 72nd overall pick and the 17th overall pick. Shamar Stewart is someone that should be able to go out there and give you a high floor. Maybe he's not going to be an all-pro, but with his physical traits, size, speed, length, athleticism, He should be able to give you enough to be a rotational piece now.