Shemar Stewart moves like a Pro Bowler at 6’5” and 290 pounds
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah released his first mock draft of 2025 on Saturday. Some interesting players that “fell down the board” for Jeremiah, relative to the current consensus, match Mel Kiper’s predictions from earlier in the week.
Two edge rushers, Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. and Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton, seem to be sinking like rocks. Pearce, who was considered a top-10 selection just weeks ago, currently is 13th on the consensus draft board. Jeremiah had Pearce going 32nd overall while Kiper had him drafted 28th. Meanwhile, Scouton, who had a rough final year after transferring from Purdue, is ranked 17th on the consensus board and was picked 29th by Kiper and didn’t go in the first round at all for Jeremiah.
One player who is surging up draft boards, though, is Scourton’s teammate Shemar Stewart, who Jeremiah selected for the Green Bay Packers at 23rd overall. The Miami native was a five-star recruit out of high school and joined A&M in 2022. At 6’5” and 290 pounds, he’s closer to the size of a defensive tackle than a defensive end. With that being said, though, he does move like an edge rusher, which I’m sure will make the 21-year-old sought-after post-combine.
Despite his limited production at A&M, he still makes a few Jadveon Clowney-like plays in a game where his athleticism completely destroys opposing offenses. He very well might have led college football in the number of times he blew up the mesh point before quarterbacks could hand off the ball cleanly.
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) January 18, 2025
Beyond his explosion, Stewart also shows the ability to bend on the edge, which is rare for someone his size.
Bend at 6'5", 290 https://t.co/fayDunhBBC pic.twitter.com/9SMsMtjaXi
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) January 18, 2025
So that’s the pitch on Stewart. If you were wondering which non-safety defensive players Jeremiah had gone before the Packers’ pick, here’s that list in the order that they came off of the board:
- Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State (#4 on the consensus draft board)
- Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado (#2)
- Mason Graham, DL, Michigan (#5)
- Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia (#10)
- Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas (#30)
- Will Johnson, CB, Michigan (#7)
- Jalon Walker, LB/EDGE, Georgia (#16)
- Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss (#28)
- Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan (#19)
- Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama (#36)
Jeremiah seems to be a big fan of Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who is ranked 30th on the consensus board and was given to the Indianapolis Colts at 14th overall. Simply being healthy could push Barron up the board come April. Beyond Travis Hunter, who is expected to go very early in the draft, the non-Barron cornerbacks projected to go in the top 45 picks of the next draft all dealt with serious injuries in 2024: Will Johnson (Michigan), Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame) and Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina).
