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When describing a player's athleticism, unspoken categories come to mind. Some are slightly athletic. Others have a good amount of athleticism. Then there are guys like Shemar Stewart, who seem like they were created in a lab to play sports. For more context, the EDGE from Texas A&M football turned heads during the recent NFL combine when he — all 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds of him — ran 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash and logged a 40-inch vertical leap plus a 10-foot-11 broad jump.
This showing boosted his stock, giving teams glimpses of a ceiling that possibly equates to quality impact in the pros. It also overshadowed concerns that stemmed from his lack of productivity in college (more on this later). With that being said, one team that could use Stewart right now is the Atlanta Falcons. They hold the 15th pick in the first round, and their biggest need this offseason arguably stems from the defensive side.
For starters, the Falcons allowed opponents 345.2 total yards and 224.5 passing yards per game this past season, putting them in the bottom half of the league in both categories. While stats such as these don't entirely fall on the defensive front alone, it's important to note that Atlanta as a team tallied just 31 sacks in 17 games — second worst in the entire league. This problem is even more highlighted by how the Falcons only averaged a 34% pass rush win rate, 27th among all teams (per ESPN). The 29% run stop win rate (26th) doesn't help the D-line's case as well. In relation, a recent piece by the NFL — per NFL next gen stats — stated that “Atlanta was the only team in the NFL without a single D-lineman producing a pressure rate above 11%.”
So yes, the Falcons definitely need to make tweaks in the trenches. A Shemar Stewart selection, therefore, seems like a very reasonable decision in the NFL draft, given what he brings to the table. Watching the 21-year-old, something very noticeable is how his strength, quickness and explosiveness allow him to bull rush his matchups into the backfield. This constricts the pocket, which, in turn, causes disruption and makes it easier for him and his teammates to hunt down ball carriers. Being that athletic also creates speed mismatches, making Stewart a threat to much slower linemen.
An interesting Shemar Stewart stat
What about the aforementioned lack of productivity? This is where it gets tricky. In three years with Texas A&M, Stewart has tallied just 4.5 sacks. Scouts bring up his need for improvement when it comes to hand technique and finishing plays, making those highly probable contributors to the intriguing stat. Still, there's one other reason that could have held Stewart back in the NCAA.
The Aggies — under head coach Mike Elko — usually run a Tite/Mint front, which is basically a three-man front with two defensive linemen placed along the inside shoulder of the tackles on both sides to clog the B gaps while the nose tackle takes on the center in the middle. This type of defense is meant to seal inside gaps and force the offense outside, where the linebackers and safeties await. The thing is, Stewart is commonly utilized as one of the two defensive linemen who are tasked to clog the B gaps (4i technique), rather than a rusher from the perimeter. This, in theory, could be a major factor as to why his sack numbers aren't exactly head-turning. He is an EDGE after all, and it's not hard to imagine that his physical attributes — mainly the speed and explosiveness — would be more activated with all the space that outside rushers operate with.
While the Falcons run a 3-4 formation, one could hope that Raheem Morris develops and utilizes Stewart more as an outside threat rather than placing him near the middle of the trenches (in the event that he does end up with Atlanta). This is all speculation, of course, and the chance of a player not living up to the hype will always be there. There's a reason why Stewart has that “boom-or-bust” label. But make no mistake: he's certainly worth the gamble, judging by the amount of upside shown.
