Inside The Star
The NFL Draft is less than a month away, which means we’ll be seeing weekly rumors from now until draft day. This week, the smoke around the Cowboys’ draft plan centered around Texas A&M star Shemar Stewart.
Stewart, 21, is one of the highest-ranked pass rushers in the 2025 class. The consensus is Penn State’s Abdul Carter takes the top spot, with Stewart landing right behind him.
.@AggieFootball DL Shemar Stewart: One-man game wrecker
Made that strip sack look way too easy pic.twitter.com/PQfhQfuEuE
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 29, 2025
Dallas, for all the running back and wide receiver talk, is poised to consider these top defensive options in April. With Matt Eberflus running that side of the ball, and the depth chart lacking, the defense could dominate this Cowboys draft.
If the front office does go that route, Stewart is at the top of the list of names they’d consider, and it’s time the Dallas faithful heard more about him.
Let’s talk about this former Aggie, the rationale behind taking him, and what it would mean for the rest of the draft.
There has been no shortage of investment in the Cowboys’ defensive line these past few years.
Micah Parsons, Marshawn Kneeland, Mazi Smith, and Sam Williams were all drafted in the first two rounds. That doesn’t include the recently-paid Osa Odighizuwa, or DeMarcus Lawrence, whom the team was paying a considerable amount before his departure to Seattle.
Cowboys and DL Osa Odighizuwa have agreed to terms on a 4-year, $80M deal with $58M guaranteed. (via @RapSheet, @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/lLPkzsAD86
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2025
Nevertheless, it seems like Dallas is always considering the defensive line early in the draft. The reason behind drafting Stewart would be to eliminate that from future consideration.
The Miami native and former five-star recruit has a ceiling that few can touch. His potential, thanks to his freakish athleticism and rare combination of skills, is huge. Stewart is the kind of draft pick that can change a defense completely.
This was also the narrative around Parsons when Dallas drafted him in 2021. There were some questions about him as a prospect, but the ceiling reigned supreme.
For Stewart, many have debated his lack of production in college; in 37 games, he totaled just 4.5 sacks. His outlook as a prospect doesn’t add up to those numbers, and, for obvious reasons, that’s concerning.
Elko on Shemar Stewart’s lack of sack production: “People went against those kids with a plan of how to not allow them to impact the game. So to just pick up a piece of paper and look at production, I don’t know that that always tells the whole story. I know the NFL sees that.”
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) March 27, 2025
The thing is, collegiate production doesn’t mean much sometimes. His pure talent and athleticism are next level, and a professional...
