Prospect Profile: Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M

Evaluation

Get Off

He has good upfield burst in most situations, including neutral downs with a modest improvement when in obvious passing situations and in a two-point stance. He’s exceptionally good at softening angles and using his footwork to put the Offensive Lineman in a compromising position quickly. He also has nice dip to him to reduce his surface area and take the edge once he’s two to three steps upfield.

Rushing the Passer

He has an effective plan, knows who he is and how to use his strengths. He’s especially good against short-setters, as he can set them up brilliantly with pressure steps inside to open up the outside. He uses his footwork and change of direction as weapons to create enough space for him to use his hands to take the edge. He’s a power-rusher with plenty of tools of that type at his disposal. He can convert speed to power and come straight through the chest of even some of the best competition he faced in college, this is most apparent when he’s in a two-point stance and aligned wide in a 7 or 9 technique. He has an effective long-arm and bull rush as well as a lethal two-hand swipe. While there are some other weapons you’d like to see him add as counters, like a bull-pull, he has a well-developed arsenal that he knows how to deploy to his advantage. His hands as a pass-rusher are quick and violent, when married with his change of direction and his rush plan, he is a dangerous rusher up until the finish. He can keep the Offensive Linemen off balance throughout the rep and has fluid hips and good bend when turning the corner to the Quarterback. He gets to the hip of his opponent well and has shown an ability to finish on the Quarterback but this isn’t consistent. Often this is because of Offensive Linemen coming in late looking for work or intended double teams that he faces from the outset of his rush and slows him getting into the backfield. However, you can find on film, several examples where he gets into finishing positions but fails to make an impact as he loses his footing when the Quarterback climbs the pocket. He corners well initially but when he has to make a longer turn than 90 degrees because the Quarterback has left his original drop depth, he can struggle to lay a hand on him. He’ll make plays on Quarterbacks with less pocket presence more consistently but struggles when a QB moves well in the pocket

Defending the Run

He diagnoses Zone runs particularly well, against backside cut-offs he displays his fast and violent hands that are normally on show as a pass-rusher and can quickly club-swim to get into the backfield. You can see him chase down run plays from behind, both near the line of scrimmage when the RB read allows but also a long way downfield where he showcases his ability in pursuit and his competitiveness. When he’s not setting the edge on the play-side of Zone runs he can use his processing and his quickness to stay clean and get into the backfield for negative plays. When he’s setting the edge, his deficiency with his hand usage can show up as while his hands are fast and powerful, they can be too wide when attacking the OL at an angle, he misses the ideal strike zone, and can lose control at the point of attack. Against Gap runs, he’s a split second slower to diagnose. While this doesn’t affect him when facing straight Drive blocks, when he’s faced up against an OL he can shoot his hands in quickly and accurately and lock out to gain leverage, it can affect him against pullers and trap blocks. He is liable to be kicked out hard by a pulling Guard operating in an effective Gap-heavy scheme.

DRAFTED RAVEN COMP
A more athletic Za’Darius Smith

PRODUCTION
Final year on campus: 2 Sacks, 4 QB Hit1, 26 Total Tackles, 1 FF, 1 PBU
INJURY HISTORY: Missed no games in college. Sprained AC joint & severe bone bruise cost him most of JR year of high school

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 4
Versatility 4
Grit 5
Scheme 5