The Los Angeles Rams have built one of the NFL’s most athletic and aggressive front sevens, headlined by Jared Verse and Byron Young on the edge. But behind the starters, there’s a competition brewing — and rookie Josiah Stewart may be the dark horse ready to claim a larger role than many anticipated.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network has had Stewart on his radar for a while.
Josiah Stewart Is The Quintessential Rams Pass Rusher—But Can He Get On The Field?
“Josiah Stewart was a personal favorite of mine back in the fall,” Jeremiah said. “He didn’t test for a long time during the pre-draft process, and when he finally did, the results weren’t great. I think that’s part of the reason he was still available in the third round. He’s undersized, and some people dismissed him because of that.
But Les Snead has shown over the years—look at someone like Kyren Williams, who didn’t run a great time—that he can find really good football players who may not fit the traditional height-weight-speed profile many teams prioritize.
I haven’t talked to anyone at Rams camp or heard his name as a standout yet, but I know the kind of player they tend to hit on, and Stewart fits that mold perfectly. I can see him carving out a role on what is already a very talented, fast, and athletic front seven.”
Stewart isn’t just a roster filler. At Michigan, the 6-foot-1, 249-pound pass rusher earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2024, leading a defense stocked with NFL talent in sacks (8.5), tackles for loss (13), and forced fumbles (two). His production came despite being one of the smaller 3-4 outside linebackers in the class — a fact that might have kept some teams away but doesn’t seem to bother the Rams.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com sees Stewart’s situation as tailor-made for development.
“I haven’t heard anything specific about Josiah Stewart, but he’s in a great situation—maybe similar to a Bryce Huff type of role—where he’s playing behind two strong edge rushers in Byron Young and Jared Verse. It could be an opportunity for the Rams to mix him in strategically.”
That rotational role — OLB3 on the Rams’ depth chart — is up for grabs after Michael Hoecht’s departure in free agency. Stewart will compete with Brennan Jackson and Nick Hampton, but his combination of quick get-off, violent hand usage, and relentless pursuit gives him an edge. He’s a linear rusher who thrives off speed-to-power conversions, able to turn the corner or collapse a tackle’s anchor if given space. While his moves can be predictable and longer blockers occasionally overpower him, the Rams value his aggression and chase speed, traits that fit seamlessly into Chris Shula’s attacking defense.
Stewart’s journey to this point defies convention. A Bronx native who didn’t pick up organized football until high school, he burst onto the college scene at Coastal Carolina, leading the Sun Belt in sacks as a freshman before transferring to Michigan. Along the way, he built a reputation as an all-effort, all-attitude defender — the kind Rams scouts have historically identified and developed.
The challenge now is carving out snaps in a rotation that will lean heavily on Verse and Young. But as Jeremiah noted, Snead’s track record with non-prototype players speaks for itself. Stewart may have entered the league as an overlooked third-rounder, but his skill set and situation point toward a bigger role than the draft slot suggests.
If the Rams’ pass rush once again ranks among the league’s most disruptive, don’t be surprised if Stewart’s name starts coming up more often — not just as a promising rookie, but as a critical piece in keeping Los Angeles’ edge attack relentless from snap one to snap sixty.
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