How likely are the Arizona Cardinals to take a quote-unquote project with the 16th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft?

If Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart is still sitting there, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. joins colleague Field Yates in believing it’s a possibility.

The summary on the Aggies prospect goes like so: He’s a physically imposing athlete at 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds with the speed and power to play on the edge rather than the interior of the defensive line.

Does it translate to the NFL, though, if it only translated to 4.5 combined sacks over three years in college? The potential is there, which is why Kiper has Stewart going to Arizona in the first round of his pre-NFL Scouting Combine mock draft.

When I put together my first mock draft back in January, the board didn’t present much pass rush value at No. 16 for the Cardinals. Not ideal, considering this team was 28th in pass rush win rate at 33.3%. But this time around, the Cards would have their choice between Stewart and Georgia’s Mykel Williams. It’s close, but I like the ceiling for Stewart here. Thanks to his speed and power, he should test really well this week in Indianapolis. And Arizona would be able to slide him in opposite Zaven Collins and get him a lot of work early in his career.

In 2024, Stewart posted 31 tackles with two passes defensed.

Pro Football Focus actually grades him in the elite side (88.2) for his run defense, while his pass rush grade leaves a lot to be desired (67.2). PFF credits him with four quarterback hits and 33 hurries this past season.

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein sees Stewart as a project, a player who can win on brute speed-to-power bullying but doesn’t have the hand usage or plan to counter.

What could make or break Stewart as the Arizona Cardinals view him as an NFL Draft prospect?

For the Cardinals’ purposes, there’s a clear need on the edge. BJ Ojulari is coming off a serious knee injury, making Collins the only sure thing.

Stewart showed some versatility across his career under Jimbo Fischer and Mike Elko. He played as a standup true edge player but did get some occasional use on the interior.

PFF lists Stewart with 371 snaps outside the tackle and 117 over the opposing tackle last year. Many snaps of that latter designation had him attacking inside a tackle’s shoulder and blowing up protections in the B-gap — that appears to be where much of his run-stopping juice came from.

Point is, Arizona under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis loves getting wacky with his fronts, and Stewart causes problems when an opposing quarterback wonders if there’s a 290-pound missle attempting to bend around the edge of the offensive tackle or if he’s ready to blow up an inside run.

The Cardinals would just need to believe the potential to produce on the edge is there even though the college tape leaves a lot on the table — that Stewart can finish plays with the quarterback on the ground.

Pair him with a healthy Ojulari and last year’s first-round pick, defensive tackle Darius Robinson, and the Cardinals’ defensive front at least could look like a potentially imposing group if Stewart is the pick.

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