The Baltimore Ravens have been frequently linked to Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart in mock drafts leading up to April’s NFL Draft. It made sense—he had the size, power, and athletic upside that Baltimore covets in pass rushers. He was projected to be in their range at pick No. 27.
Well, was is the key word here. It seems as though that ship has most likely sailed and is halfway around the world by now. And Stewart is probably somehow outpacing it.
Stewart just put on a generational athletic display at the NFL Combine, and now? The Ravens can probably kiss their dreams of drafting him goodbye. Once seen as a late first or early second-round prospect, Stewart’s performance in Indianapolis sent his stock through the roof.
Unless general manager Eric DeCosta is planning a trade-up (spoiler: he isn’t), Stewart won’t be slipping anywhere near Baltimore’s pick.
Shemar Stewart’s combine performance changed everything
It wasn’t just a good workout—it was one of the best ever recorded. Stewart, standing at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds, recorded:
4.59-second 40-yard dash (fourth among edge rushers)
40-inch vertical jump (second among edge rushers)
10-foot-11 broad jump (first among edge rushers)
Here’s a video of his near 11-foot broad jump, which, again, is crazy for a person weighing close to 300 pounds. We are living in an athletic era never before seen. It’s insane.
If those numbers weren’t ridiculous enough, analytics guru Kent Lee Platte confirmed that Stewart earned a perfect 10.00 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), meaning he tested as the most athletic defensive end prospect since 1987.
While this athletic feat is amazing, it does unfortunately guarantee one thing: Stewart is not making it to the Ravens at No. 27 on draft night.
Teams always get seduced by elite athletic traits, and Stewart’s film already showed enough flashes of potential. Even with his limited college production (4.5 career sacks at Texas A&M), scouts will see a guy who can develop into a force with the right system.
With Stewart likely out of reach, the Ravens need to reassess their pass-rushing options. Luckily enough for them, this year’s draft class is deep at the position, and other potential first-round targets remain on the board.
Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. is another athletic freak who could fall to Baltimore, while Georgia’s Mykel Williams and Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku offer intriguing upside as well. The Ravens could still land a high-level pass rusher at No. 27—it just probably won’t be Stewart.
Of course, Baltimore could also address pass rush later in the draft, opting for a different position in the first round. But if Stewart was truly at the top of their board, that dream has been obliterated tenfold.
For now, the Ravens can only watch as Stewart prepares to go somewhere in the top half of the first round—maybe even the top 10—while Baltimore adjusts its draft plans accordingly.
