‘Human Bowling Ball’ Shemar Stewart Earns First-Round Grade

Texas A&M defensive end/edge Shemar Stewart leaves quite an impression.

Because of his physical brand of football, he left quite an impression on me as an evaluator, and he left an impression on opponents for the same reason.

Stewart hits hard.

Really hard.

That’s how he gained my affectionate nickname for him, “The Human Bowling Ball.”

Why?

Because that’s how he plays the game.

Tell me more

Stewart’s brute power comes from his legs. I’m convinced he can throw up serious weight in the gym doing leg presses.

It’s this lower body strength that causes him to be able to get serious movement at the point of attack. He can jolt 300+ plus-pound men backward when he makes that initial contact after the snap. He can put offensive linemen on skates, as they say in scouting, and drive them right back into the quarterback. I saw Stewart do this enough times to consider it a pattern. This is what evaluating is about ⎯identifying trends and patterns ⎯not the ‘one-offs.’

Another way of saying this is ⎯Stewart has what it takes to collapse the pocket and just his presence caused errant passes.

Some may look at Stewart’s 1.5 sacks in 2024 (12 games) and dismiss him. However, that would be a mistake. Pocket disruption is also gold in the NFL. Have to dig deeper on this one. Pro Football Focus credited Stewart with four quarterback hits and an additional 33 hurries this past season ⎯and that’s the way it looked on his tape.

What else stood out about Stewart

Stewart is not just into pass-rushing either.

I noticed several times how Stewart flew to the ball to provide tackling support on screen passes and hammered whoever caught the ball. I also noticed how hard he fought blockers to stop the run.

2024:

• 31 tackles (17 assists)
• 6 tackles for loss

Weaknesses?

One of the benefits of evaluating all of a prospect’s games in a given season is being able to see the big-picture perspective. Evaluating is much like being a private investigator. When it comes to ‘on the field’ performance, all the pieces of a prospect’s puzzle are on his game film.

There are also plays ⎯a fair number of plays when Stewart never gets rolling.

Why?

At first, I thought it was an effort issue, but it’s not. While Stewart has a slight issue with complacency on his film, the real issue is his raw technique.

When Stewart gets into the chest of the offensive lineman he is squaring up against, and gets his hands inside ⎯and combines that with his explosive leg drive ⎯he’s almost impossible to block. However, when he doesn’t ⎯and he plays at too high of a pad level ⎯it’s VERY possible to block him.

NFL Projection

Pocket disruption is the name of the game on defense in the NFL with 29/32 teams passing the ball more than 50% of the time in 2024. Additionally, with the Eagles putting all that pressure on Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, expect pass rushers to be at even more of a premium than usual.

That puts a prospect like Stewart in a perfect position on the league’s timeline.

#4 Shemar Stewart 6-foot-6, 290 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2025 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 43.9 % of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of February 21, 2025 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2024 game film evaluated: Notre Dame, McNeese, Florida, Bowling Green, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi State, LSU, South Carolina, New Mexico, and Texas (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Athletic, stout, compact, and violent prospect. Strong frame. Long arms. Bully. Energetic. Hand fighter. Packs a punch. Flashed pass rush moves: head fake, spin, jump move, and slap and go. Inconsistent timing getting off the snap. Short-area acceleration. Nice long-distance speed. Noticeable tightness. Unable to make quick adjustments in space. Draws double teams and chip blocks regularly. Disciplined to the scheme. Can hold the point on running plays, but he’s inconsistent disengaging from offensive linemen. Ends up in the area at the very least.

Final words

Stewart has what it takes.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.