Shemar Stewart is the NFL Draft’s most curious case study

The 2025 NFL Draft class is the perfect example of not only drafting guys for what they are now, but for what they can become. It’s the push-pull of getting instant impact now versus banking on your own development program and coaching that can turn a player into a superstar. Personally, I think this draft class has some really nice talent along the offensive and defensive lines, and Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart is near the top of the group. An athletic marvel at 6’5 and 281 pounds, Stewart’s meteoric rise has him going extremely high in mock drafts (my latest mock has him going ninth to the New Orleans Saints). The biggest question mark is that he only has 4.5 sacks in his entire career, a paltry number for any pass rusher entering the draft.

However, I think that if you look past the sack numbers and what Stewart was asked to do and how he did it, what the tape shows is a player with all the potential to be a force in the NFL.

When you watch defensive line prospects, yes the production matters but I also think how they move and get from point A to point B is a big point in filling out a scouting report. With Stewart, it’s important to understand what he was asked to do and why he was asked to do it (this also applies to Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams in a way, but even those two guys are different). Under first-year HC Mike Elko at Texas A&M, the Aggies ran the tite/mint front defenses that have taken over college football, and are similar to what Georgia has run in their latest stretch of dominance. In these defenses, the defensive line is taught much differently than other defensive line play. The structure of the defense calls for players like Stewart to be placed as the 4i technique on the line, rarely having many reps out wide where he can pin his ears back. This is a screenshot from a clinic Kirby Smart and Glenn Schumann talked at (which I highly recommend watching), and it shows that instead of lining up in a traditional four-man front, with a 3-technique and 1-technique defensive tackle and two edge players, Georgia slides one of those edge types inside to a 4i. This creates an even front box count with odd front spacing, hopefully funneling everything outside to the speed.

Now, here is how Stewart would line up at Texas A&M when they would get into their mint front:

This affects the scouting process for guys coming from these fronts because of what they’re asked to do. Oftentimes, these players are playing the run on the way to the pass, with limited pass rush opportunities from a wide nine. Their job is to create pileups between the tackles, forcing backs to the speed on the edges of the defense. It’s why when you watch these defenses, against the pass their first step is always towards the B-gap and not the outside of the tackle.

In Stewart’s case, to discuss his ceiling as a player I think we have to first discuss his movement skills and athletic tools. He moves like a guy thats 20-30 pounds lighter than his listed 281-pound frame, but what really stands out is the flexibility and the hip movement for a guy his size. It’s pretty rare to find athletes as big as Stewart who can leverage his length and flexibility in the run game on the edge. Combine that with lateral quickness of a guy that should be much smaller and it’s easy to see why many people (including myself) are high on his game. Take this play as an example against South Carolina. This is one of the examples where Stewart is lined up outside the tackle, and the Gamecocks run a split zone look with the tight end coming in motion. Watch how Stewart gets lateral, but is still able to generate enough force and knockback to keep his inside arm clean to make the tackle. That’s some grown ass man run defense.

You also can’t run away from him, he’s shown a relentlessly hot motor that causes him to run down plays from the backside, including screens where he has no reason to be involved in the play, but there he is blasting your receiver.

He doesn’t make the play here, but look at the upper body strength and flexibility to forklift Will Campbell out of this lane, altering the RB’s path. He’s a rare athlete, man.

Let’s talk about the pass rush, which I think shows a lot more potential than the production would state. Yes, he only had 4.5 career sacks, but when you look at his pressure rate numbers compared to guys that played in similar schemes coming out, they get interesting. The best example of this is Jacksonville Jaguars EDGE Travon Walker, who is a continuously ascending player coming off another fairly productive season. While Walker had more sacks in his final year at Georgia, Stewart’s 9.4% Pressure Rate was higher. In addition, in a different defense that played him wider in 2023, Stewart’s 14.8% Pressure Rate looks a lot better. I think there’s a reason for that, and it also stems from the defense changing their philosophy in 2024 compared to 2023. Look at this sack against Auburn from 2024. Notice how tight Stewart is to the left tackle’s shoulder, playing the run on the way to the pass. While it’s a great way of controlling the run game from a light box, it doesn’t exactly do your edge guys many favors when it comes to rushing the passer. Look at Stewart’s first step, a read step making sure that it’s a pass play before firing off to rush the passer.

Compare this to 2023, where you can see him in a wider alignment, not really reading what the lineman’s block is, and he puts the right tackle on his ass. When it comes to evaluating defensive line prospects, especially with the tite/mint front being the philosophy du jour in college football, it’s crucial to understand that some of these guys don’t have the gaudy pass rush numbers, because their job is to cause havoc and clear up lanes for the second level.

On the tape, it’s clear what Stewart’s most defining pass rush trait is: the forceful speed to power. We define explosiveness a lot as guys going around a lineman with bursts of speed, but I think explosion through a lineman is just as valid, and even more prominent in the NFL. If you think about the last two NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners, Los Angeles Rams’ EDGE Jared Verse and Houston Texans’ EDGE Will Anderson Jr., both guys came into the NFL with the most absurd conversion of speed to power. Stewart is going to come into the NFL able to do that, and do it really well. Look at how he puts this Florida offensive tackle on ice skates for the sack.

Even when he isn’t going speed to power, I think he shows the potential for an expanded set of counters to it. I love his violence on rip moves, both to the inside and outside of the tackle’s shoulder.

If there’s one thing I think Stewart needs to improve on, it’s simply finishing plays. I think he’s such a forceful and explosive athlete that he flies in out of control and ends up flying past the QB or not being able to throttle down to get the sack. It’s very much like if you gave an eight-year-old the keys to an F1 car; it would look awesome but some of the throttling down stuff would be an adventure. I think Stewart gets unfairly labeled a “project” when some of his work and pass rush plan is that of a first year starter who can be a superstar–he just needs to figure out how to finish.

A few examples of this, both from 2023 and 2024. Stewart blasts past the South Carolina lineman with an inside move, but loses his balance as he goes to sack QB LaNorris Sellers. Because he’s out of control, he loses his grip and Sellers manages to escape. This is the kind of stuff that you see from him that makes him a tantalizing prospect, but also one that just has one more hurdle to get over.

This one is from 2023, against LSU tackle Emery Jones Jr, who is going to be a Day 2 pick in this year’s draft. Absolutely flies by the tackle with speed and dip around the edge, flattens the corner…and can’t hold onto QB Jayden Daniels (who might be pretty good). If he turns some of these plays into sacks, I think the discussion about these numbers is a lot different.

Overall, I think I’m going to be a lot higher on Shemar Stewart than other people. You don’t see freak athletes like Stewart enter the NFL very often, and being one of the best athletes in the sport at the position gives you a wide margin for error. I also think his pass rush plan is better than people give him credit for (and I still think he can expand in that area with hand placement), making him an impactful pass rusher in a lot of areas. He played in a weird defense at A&M, but in the NFL, he’s got the potential to be a star.