The 2027 NFL Draft is littered with top-end talent on both sides of the ball. We are going to see debates all year about who tops certain positions, and arguably the biggest debate will be at the edge position between Texas’s Colin Simmons and the feature of this report, South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart.
Both Simmons and Stewart project to be top-ten picks, but Stewart appears to be otherworldly. Let’s talk about it.
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 245 lbs
- Recruiting rank: Five-star recruit, no. 2 edge nationally
- Hometown: Washington, D.C.
- Games watched: Kentucky, LSU, Alabama
Dylan Stewart plays like he was built in Create a Player. The way Stewart moves off the line and engages with his blocker is abnormal, in a good way. He has some of the nastiest knee bend in the class, which allows him to fly off the line around his blocker, thanks in large part to freakish acceleration. He pops on tape for his pure speed, but when he does decide to bull rush, he has fairly clean hand placement for a player who is still so raw for the position. He absolutely dominated Kentucky, posting 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Stewart, as mentioned above, is a very raw prospect still. He suffered lingering hip and back injuries last season, and while he did play through them, his stats suffered, as he posted only 4.5 sacks. He needs someone to tell him to listen to his body and heal, because he is a gamewrecker when healthy.
The speed aspect dominates his pass-rush moveset, leaving him prone to struggles against nasty, physical tackles who land early. If he can add a few pounds this offseason and bulk ever so slightly, he may become an unstoppable pass rusher.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: 2027 NFL Draft Summer Report on South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart