2025 NFL Draft: Shemar Stewart scouting report

Stewart is an elite athlete whose production hasn’t matched his traits

Considering how strongly the Green Bay Packers’ pre-draft visits are linked to the college players that they actually select, we’re going to attempt (keyword: attempt) to get scouting reports on every player that the Packers bring in for visits this offseason. Our work is cut out for us on the first player to take a visit, the controversial edge defender Shemar Stewart.

Why is he controversial? Well, his evaluation is essentially a Rorschach test for how you view the college-to-NFL pipeline at the defensive end position. As an athlete, he’s comparable to fellow former Texas &M product Myles Garrett. In box scores, though, the former five-star recruit has posted all of 4.5 sacks in his college career. Despite that, he shows traits that will eventually make him a first-round pick next month.

How is that possible, you ask? Well, this is what college football looks like right now: Last season, Tennessee — an SEC school that made the college football playoff — attempted just over 100 true pass attempts in the entire year, including the postseason. That excludes screens, RPOs, play action and quick game, which make up the vast majority of college passing at the moment. You’re not reading that wrong: The true progression pass is almost out of the college game completely.

Here’s what Packers great Mike Daniels had to say on Twitter/X on the topic of college production for defensive linemen:

So if college offenses aren’t calling true dropback pass plays, why should defenses play their best athletes in pass-first edge roles that primarily influence just that aspect of the game? That’s one reason why so many edge defender prospects now either play out of position, either on the interior or off-ball linebacker, or are playing run-first roles, like Stewart did at A&M.

In the same way that NFL teams have had to draft quarterbacks and offensive linemen as prospects, relying on traits-based scouting instead of simply selecting finished products, the league is starting to have to do the same for box defenders. That is just life now for a league that has no hands in the development of its future players before they’re at least three years removed from high school.

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Shemar Stewart Scouting Report

The South Florida product is a freak athlete. I cannot understate this. He might be the most athletic edge rusher we’ve ever been able to measure through combine metrics.

Does that translate to the field? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here’s a bunch of clips of him blowing up run plays before they could ever get started off of the strength of his impressive first step.

According to Pro Football Focus, Stewart has gotten consistently better as a run defender throughout his college career. As a true freshman, he was graded 37.6 by the company. That rose to 63.6 in 2023 and an elite 88.2 as a junior last year.

When he’s not just flying off of the ball, he shows great strength and length when disengaging in the run game. The clip above is a play where he throws possible top-10 pick right tackle Armand Membou of Missouri off of his frame from a disadvantageous position. There’s not much of that on Membou’s tape from 2024. This is your reminder that Stewart got all of this run production in the SEC, arguably the best competition in college football.

Stewart’s also a high-effort chase player, who would probably be the best unblocked defender on the backside of runs on the Packers’ roster immediately. You’ll find him making plays on screens or lateral runs often, hunting down running backs from behind.

The one aspect where he could really improve as a run defender is his pad level or core strength (at least one), which isn’t shocking considering he’s a legit 6’5”. A&M played him often in 4i (inside of tackle) techniques or the true defensive interior, where he won’t be lining up much at the NFL level at 267 pounds. In those spots, he frequently got twisted or bent on double teams or stretch block combos. If there’s anything to harp on about him in the run game, it’s that.

As a pass rusher, you’ll see a lot of the run-first mentality that Stewart played with against play-action or RPOs. On the limited plays where he’s playing the pass first, his highlights generally look like the clip above: Stewart simply overpowering offensive linemen with his combination of speed, strength and length.

As far as “pass rush moves” go, Stewart’s toolbox is fairly limited. With that being said, I’m not sure that was a priority of the coaching staff. Stewart’s teammate, Purdue transfer Nic Scourton, came into the season with top-10 hype as a pure pass-rusher. Scourton, like Stewart, had a “down year” from a production standpoint — recording only five sacks. Now, it’s unlikely that Scourton will even be a first-round pick.

Why teach pass-rush moves to a player whose primary role is to disrupt the run and option games? I’m sure that was A&M’s logic. Remember, this is the same scheme that had Packers 2024 second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper essentially playing as a quarterback spy at the college level. Cooper hit the ground running with an NFL coaching last year and probably would have won defensive rookie of the year as a true linebacker had he played all 17 games with Green Bay.

Despite the lack of refinement, there are plenty of clips of Stewart showing great bend for a 6’5”, 267-pounder in the mold of a Robert Quinn. Note: A&M listed Stewart at 290 pounds when he was in college, which doesn’t match with what his body type looked like with the Aggies. He might have lost a little weight during combine prep, but I doubt he was ever a legit 290 pounds.

Could Stewart work on his hands? Certainly. Thankfully, that’s probably the easiest thing to teach at the next level and he checks every other traits-based box.

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There’s a lot to like about Stewart’s game, but someone is going to have to teach him a couple of go-to pass-rush moves that will take his rare talents to the next level. Mike Smith did a great job of that with Rashan Gary, who was able to develop into a Pro Bowl talent after a lack of college production, and Za’Darius Smith, who was a situational pass-rusher with the Baltimore Ravens before he signed with the Packers. Jason Rebrovich had less luck with Lukas Van Ness. Now that Rebrovich is out of the picture, the hope is that DeMarcus Covington, former New England Patriots defensive coordinator, can be the type of coach who can mold a player like Stewart into another Gary — or even better.

Personally, I don’t think Stewart will be available for the Packers’ 23rd overall pick. He’s simply too talented. If Travon Walker was taken first overall with 9.5 career college sacks and has registered back-to-back double-digit sack seasons in the NFL, Stewart shouldn’t be on the board for very long in April. But maybe Green Bay is projecting a slip for Stewart or is planning for a potential trade-up scenario.

Once cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter of Colorado or defensive tackle Mason Graham of Michigan come off of the board, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stewart was the highest available player on at least one team’s board on draft day. That’s the type of raw talent he is.