First-Round Pass Rusher with Elite Tools Has NFL Draft Visit with Packers

Athleticism is the name of the game.

Texas A&M’s uber-athletic pass rusher, Shemar Stewart, was in Green Bay for a predraft visit with the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday, according to a picture on his Instagram account.

The Packers are on the hunt for help with their pass rush, after striking out in free agency in terms of impactful additions.

The Packers are coming off a season in which all the buzz coming out of training camp was about a potentially dominant front four.

Their front absolutely wrecked joint practice sessions with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens in August, which only heightened the belief that Green Bay’s front could be a dominant force.

Getting pressure with the front four is going to be the desire of any defensive coordinator, and the Packers looked like they had the magic elixir to unlock Jeff Hafley’s defense in his first year.

Instead, through two weeks of the regular season, the Packers pass rush was largely silent.

They insisted it was to keep Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson in the pocket. After their third game of the season, it looked like they might have been right. They sacked Titans quarterback Will Levis eight times from all different angles.

That level of consistency never reached Green Bay’s pass rush. They had flashed, but never fully found the form they were hoping to have when they broke training camp in late August or marched out of Nashville with a victory.

“Sometimes that’s just the way the NFL season goes,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said when asked about the inconsistency of his front four.

“I think there was some transition to a new scheme, but I think we didn’t grow into that consistent front like we had hoped, but there were times that we showed it, so I know it’s capable.”

LaFleur lamented the lack of a consistent pass rush when the season ended.

“I envisioned rushing four and playing three deep/four under a heck of a lot more and we ended up doing a lot of simulated blitzes and different pressures and playing a bunch of cover-2,” said LaFleur.

The prevailing thought was that the Packers would chase a veteran in free agency, but there has not been so much as a whisper of them potentially adding someone from outside of the organization.

The onus for improvement appears to be on a coaching change, in addition to internal growth.

The draft, however, is the lifeblood of Green Bay’s franchise, and they’ll never shy away from drafting a pass rusher.

That’s where Stewart comes in.

Sort of.

Stewart’s traits are a scouts dream. He’s big. He’s fast. He can jump out of the gym. All of those traits lead you to believe he should have been a highly productive pass rusher in the SEC.

Instead, his production could lead you to asking a question similar to the one of Brad Pitt’s character in Moneyball.

If he’s a good pass rusher, why does he not get a lot of sacks?

It’s true. Stewart has 4.5 sacks in three seasons at Texas A&M. As a former 5-star prospect, that’s production that would be considered underwhelming.

On the other hand, lack of production has never dissuaded Gutekunst from taking a talented prospect in the first round. He’s used two first-round picks as pass rushers, Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness.

Both players were incredibly athletic, but underwhelming in terms of production.

Gary has turned into a nice pro, but never had a 10-sack season. Van Ness has seven sacks in two seasons.

Stewart’s athleticism does give some tantalizing possibilities for Green Bay. The athletic profiles of Gary, Van Ness and Stewart on the field could give Jeff Hafley plenty of options.

Stewart has played both on the interior of the defensive line and on the edge. The Packers have always valued versatility.

His performance at the NFL Combine last month was on par with another former Aggie, Myles Garrett.

At 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds with a 40-yard dash at 4.59, the size and speed components give the Packers something to dream about. His vertical was 40 inches. Roll it all together and Shemar Stewart had a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 10.0.

The Packers thought enough of Stewart to have a visit with him prior to the draft. Perhaps the Packers will want someone a little more proven, but college production has not always equaled success in the NFL.

Jaylon Ferguson is the NCAA’s leader in sacks since 2005.

Usually the best players are the best athletes. Ferguson was not a great athlete, and his career never saw him become more than a rotational player before he tragically passed away in 2022.

Stewart is one of the best athletes.

Is he going to be Green Bay’s pick?

That remains to be seen, but you can bet that the athletic marvel has caught Gutekunst’s eye.