round 3, pick 90, Rams take Josaiah Stewart, edge

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
I could be wrong but Stewart may be projected as the the Hoecht/Cheetah package/five man rush player. Has a legit motor and personality (as described by our Dane Brugler) fits really well with this young group.

I’m obviously not comparing him TO Hoecht, just saying they needed a juice player in that role

Josiah Stewart showing off the burst, speed-to-power, bull rush on this rep that will complement the Rams’ current pass rush committee nicely. pic.twitter.com/pJ5jiO2YSK

— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) April 26, 2025

"Some who is just tenacious, plays urgent, and is going to give more effort than the next guy."

🎙️ Les Snead on our third round pick Josaiah Stewart pic.twitter.com/5bsfwLyfRS

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 26, 2025

EDGE16 Josaiah Stewart Michigan, 4SR

BACKGROUND: Josaiah (jo-SY-uh) Stewart, who has 18 siblings in a blended family, was born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., with his mother (Carmen Diaz) and father (Andre Stewart). He grew up playing basketball and tag outside, running around the neighborhood, but never signed up for an organized sport. Basketball was his go-to sport throughout childhood, and he “never really picked up a football” until he got to high school. At age 10, Stewart relocated to the Boston area. Stewart enrolled at Everett High (north of Boston) and joined a program that had three other future NFL players on its roster: safety Lewis Cine, tight end Isaiah Likely and cornerback Mike Sainristil. As a freshman, he decided to join the football team, despite having no prior experience in the sport (Stewart: “All my friends were playing, and I just wanted to hop in and play with my guys.”). He started out as a part-time contributor on the freshman team in 2017, but he physically matured, learned the fundamentals and became the program’s hardest worker, according to the coaches. Stewart started on varsity as a junior and played both ways as a defensive end and tight end. He helped Everett to a 9-3 record and the 2019 league title, finishing with 30 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two blocks (one punt, one extra point attempt). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stewart’s senior season was pushed from fall of 2020 to an abbreviated schedule in spring of 2021. Stewart posted 13 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in just three games. A three-star recruit, Stewart was the 43rd-ranked edge defender in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 5 recruit in Massachusetts. After his sophomore season, he received his first Division I offer from FCS Howard (Dec. 2018). The following spring, Stewart received his first major offers from Boston College and Syracuse. He committed to Steve Addazio and Boston College during his junior season, but Addazio and his staff were fired a few weeks later. After Jeff Hafley was hired, both parties agreed to part ways — Boston College pulled its offer and Stewart reopened his recruitment. Several of Stewart’s more notable suitors had moved on by then and recruiting was in a strange spot because of the pandemic, which limited his options. Coastal Carolina (where Likely was playing) entered the mix during the summer of 2020, and Stewart committed in August. He was the top-ranked recruit in former head coach Jamey Chadwell’s 2021 class. After two highly productive seasons with the Chanticleers, Stewart entered the transfer portal in December 2022, a few days after Chadwell left for the Liberty job. He received offers from several notable programs and narrowed his final choice to LSU, Michigan and USC. Stewart, who was recruited hard by Sainristil, committed to the Wolverines and joined the team in January 2023. He accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl.

YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES
2021: (13/6) 43 15.5 12.5 3 0 0 Coastal Carolina; Freshman All-American; First Team All-SBC; led SBC in sacks; enrolled June 2021
2022: (12/11) 36 10.0 3.5 1 1 0 Coastal Carolina; Second Team All-SBC; missed bowl game (transfer)
2023: (15/0) 38 8.5 5.5 0 2 0 Michigan; Honorable Mention All-Big Ten; enrolled January 2023
2024: (11/11) 33 13.0 8.5 2 0 0 Michigan; Second Team All-Big Ten; led team in FFs, sacks and TFL; missed two games (injury); team
captain
Total: (51/28) 150 47.0 30.0 6 3 0

HT WT HAND ARM WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP NOTES

STRENGTHS:
● Explosive out of the blocks and attacks with natural leverage
● Lethal speed-to-power move, creating incredible force with the acceleration from his first two steps
● Purposeful hands as a pass rusher, mixing in different varieties of slap-rip, club-rip and flash-chop
● Uses body dip to angle and run the hoop to capture the corner
● Able to spin off contact when blocked high-side
● Better play strength in run game than expected from a player his size
● Physical at the point of attack to battle for positioning and remain a factor on edge runs
● Relentless chase speed from the backside, with closing burst to finish
● Stewart “only knows one speed” and “plays with a chip,” according to Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito
● Upgraded to team captain midway through the 2024 season because of the way he sparked the defense (Stewart: “I came out of my shell and became more of a vocal leader.”)
● Highly productive — only FBS prospect in this draft class with 30 career sacks on his resume

WEAKNESSES:
● Light frame with below-average height and limited room to get bigger
● Strong initial strike, but he can be slowed once powerful blockers get their hands on him
● Hyper-charged in his rush — that momentum will take him past the pocket at times
● Smart contain player, but NFL size will have better luck covering him up in the run game
● High-speed pursuit will leave him out of control as a secure tackler (had a career low in tackles and a career high in missed tackles in 2024)
● Occasionally peeled off or dropped into the flat, but he’s not an experienced coverage player

SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Michigan, Stewart lined up as a wide edge rusher (two- and three-point stance) in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s four-man front. Despite being late to the game (didn’t play varsity football until his junior year), he was an immediate difference-maker manning the “Bandit” position at Coastal Carolina and led the Sun Belt in sacks as a freshman. He transferred to Ann Arbor for his final two seasons and led the team in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles as a senior. An explosive pass rusher, Stewart has the arc acceleration and flexibility to win high-side, although his speed-to-power and bull rushes are uniquely effective when he is given a little runway. He plays bigger than he looks in the run game, although he will struggle to disengage when blockers are able to latch on to him. Overall, Stewart’s size won’t be for everyone, but he is an energetic athlete whose combination of twitchy get-off, crafty hands and relentless finish can make him a pass-rush factor from day one. His talent suggests he can be more than a pass-rush specialist in the NFL.

GRADE: 3rd round (No. 80 overall)