The Los Angeles Rams make a surprising selection in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft who will instantly make their defense that much deadlier
The Los Angeles Rams went back on the clock at 90th overall in the third round, making their second selection of the 2025 NFL Draft. After taking Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson at 46, the Rams went to the opposite side of the ball to draft Michigan edge rusher Josaiah Stewart with the 90th pick. […]
The Los Angeles Rams went back on the clock at 90th overall in the third round, making their second selection of the 2025 NFL Draft. After taking Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson at 46, the Rams went to the opposite side of the ball to draft Michigan edge rusher Josaiah Stewart with the 90th pick.
Last season, Stewart posted 37 pressures and nine sacks for the Wolverines as the key leading pass rusher for the team. Additionally, he was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last season.
Josaiah Stewart is a small player, but makes up for it with his energizer bunny play style with his very good competitive toughness, athleticism, play strength, and use of hands.
From my A to Z Scouting report for Stewart:
"Josaiah Stewart is a fun ball of energy to watch on film, with his quickness and competitive toughness. He is small for an edge defender at just 6'1" and 249 pounds, but he isn't afraid to come up and play the run. His quickness allows him to knife into the backfield with a force that often gets offensive tackles out of position. His size might prevent him from ever becoming a consistent three-down player, but if a team wants to bring in a high-energy type player to add to their pass rush, Stewart should be their guy."
As a pass rusher, Stewart wins with his good play strength and good use of hands. His very good quickness off the line caught plenty of blockers off guard with speed alone. Once engaged, Stewart flashed good use of hands, throwing spins, clubs, a cross-chop, and bull rush at blockers, with good ability to string moves together. Surprisingly effective bull rush to collapse the pocket despite his size and brought a constantly hot motor to the quarterback.
For the Rams, Stewart gives them another pass rusher to add to what was already a stout unit from last season. It's a good problem to have when you have to sort out snaps between Jared Verse, Byron Young, and Josaiah Stewart.
It's a little earlier than I thought they would address the pass rush, especially considering their needs at wide receiver, cornerback, and linebacker. However, Stewart is a fun player who should carve out a productive, albeit niche, role for the Rams moving forward.
For the Wolverines, this now makes five Michigan players selected in the first three rounds, bringing Michigan to 50(!) overall picks in the first three rounds over the last five years. Talk about an NFL pipeline.
