NFL Draft

1/29/25

7 min read

Shemar Stewart’s 2025 NFL Draft Stock Is Rising—Could He Be This Year’s Travon Walker?

Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. (0) drops back to pass against Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (4).
Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. (0) drops back to pass against Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (4). Matt Bush-Imagn Images.

In 2022, former Georgia Bulldogs defensive end Travon Walker flew up boards in the pre-draft process before going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Shemar Stewart has the potential to follow a similar path in 2025.

The former Texas A&M Aggies defensive end had a modest season with the college program, but scouts and media members are paying close attention to Stewart, who made some head-turning plays at the first day of practice at this year's Senior Bowl.

Stewart is currently one of the more polarizing prospects near the top of big boards across media outlets. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah has Stewart ranked 27th, while The 33rd Team's own Kyle Crabbs has him ranked all the way up at 16th. Dane Brugler with The Athletic put his stamp on Stewart by ranking him 15th overall back in November, while Bleacher Report's scouting department has him all the way down at No. 63.

All of these rankings suggest that Stewart will be a first-round pick. However, with his measurables, tape, and potential athletic testing, scouts and media member could start to talk about Stewart as a potential top-10 pick by the time the draft is underway in Green Bay.

Background and stats

Expectations have been high for Stewart since high school.

Stewart was a 5-star recruit and the No. 30 overall recruit by Rivals in the class of 2022. His offers included top-tier programs like Alabama and Georgia, but he ultimately decided to play with Texas A&M.

Even with the coaching change last season, Stewart stuck with the Aggies to play for new head coach Mike Elko. He saw a big step up in playing time as a junior after a quiet first two seasons with the program, playing a career-high 521 snaps in 2024.

Scouts who are low on Stewart will be quick to point out his lack of traditional production. He only had 4.5 sacks in three seasons, with 1.5 sacks each year. This past season was his career high for tackles as well, with 31 total tackles and 14 solo.

However, for a rotational defensive lineman, Stewart still put up respectable numbers by more advanced metrics. He generated 39 pressures on only 315 pass-rush snaps, while generating 15 defensive stops.

NFL scouts will be willing to ignore some of that lack of production when they look at Stewart's measurements. The Aggies prospect measured in at the Senior Bowl at 6'5 1/8" and 281 pounds with ridiculous 34 1/4" arm length and a 6'11 1/2" wingspan.

Simply put, there aren't many prospects who are built like Stewart.

The Tape

The production can blind the outside world to just how special a prospect like Stewart could be.

Stewart's most dominant trait is his explosiveness. His size combined with that speed off of the snap can make him a lethal player in the backfield, especially when he's able to get to the handoff mesh point before the QB can decide to hand the ball off or keep it.

That explosiveness can also be converted from speed to power, giving him one of the best bull rushes in the 2025 draft class when it's utilized properly. Blockers not expecting the bull rush can get walked back into the quarterback, as was made evident during one-on-one drills at the Senior Bowl.

For a player at his size, Stewart shouldn't have the bend as a pass rusher that he does. While he can play kicked inside on the interior of the defensive line, he can produce legitimate bend for a 280-290-pound EDGE prospect, allowing him to tighten his path to the quarterback.

That explosiveness and bend also sets up other moves for Stewart. Because offensive linemen have to respect and prepare against Stewart's burst off of the snap and flexibility to get around the corner, it forces blockers to work on getting depth in their pass sets.

Stewart has a good feel for when blockers are trying to focus on depth, and has enough short-area quickness to work inside moves to catch blockers off guard.

All of the pass rushing stuff is tools and potential, but Stewart is already a top-tier prospect in terms of run defense when he's able to put everything together.

When Stewart keeps his pads down, his functional play strength immediately stands out, as well as his motor. This rep against South Carolina with Stewart playing a more traditional DE alignment shows just how disruptive he can be against the run.

On top of pad level and strength, Stewart knows how to use his length to his advantage to "shock and shed" blockers. After launching into the point of attack with his hips, Stewart can get fully extended with his 34.5-inch arms to allow himself to easily disengage once the ball carrier comes near him.

All of those athletic tools can make Stewart so dominant, but there are still some areas where he needs to keep developing. Discipline can be an area where Stewart could take a big leap forward with proper coaching, because there are time when he's unblocked where he's too eager to make a play instead of being disciplined, allowing offenses to take advantage.

It's worth noting that one of Stewart's most underrated traits is his ability to learn in the middle of a game. While it's hard to point out specific examples with film, scouts will see a prospect who finds ways to tweak what he's doing during a game to start winning reps he was losing earlier in the contest.

As a pass rusher, there's still some work that needs to be done. Stewart relies almost exclusively on his athletic ability and size over hand usage, limiting his ability to generate pressure consistently. On top of that, Stewart needs to do a better job of staying in control with his pressures to convert them into sacks more regularly.

The Bottom Line

The evaluation for Stewart is surprisingly simple. He's a rare blend of size, explosiveness, athleticism, and play strength that makes him such an ideal fit as a 4-3 defensive end or hybrid EDGE.

At the same time, Stewart is more a project with extremely high upside as a pass rusher, but still has a lot of work to do to become a more complete player when getting after the quarterback. He'll be able to generate some pressure in his current state, but more technical refinement as a pass rusher could unlock this side of his game.

The good news is that Stewart is already so dominant in the trenches against the run that he can be an early-down player in his rookie season, and has the physical tools to develop into an every-down player with legitimate Pro Bowl and All-Pro potential if he can become more disciplined and technically sound.


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