Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Rams needed to find a third player in the rotation on the edge after opting not to bring back Michael Hoecht. While Hoecht certainly had his flaws, he became a key player in the Rams’ ‘joker’ role on defense and was a bigger, experienced body that could be trusted in the edge rotation. He may have had his limitations from an athleticism standpoint, but it was never for a lack of effort.
That was something that the Rams were going to miss heading into 2025 and would need to replace. Nick Hampton was heading into year three, but had dealt with injuries. However, in the third round of the NFL Draft, the Rams selected Michigan edge rusher Josaiah Stewart. Through two weeks, the rookie has made his presence felt as he’s currently second among rookies in splash play rate.
Against the Houston Texans in Week 1, Stewart had a batted pass at the line of scrimmage late in the fourth quarter to set up a 3rd-and-11. Last week, Stewart had his first career sack with the game tied at 13 to set up 3rd-and-13. The Titans would have to settle for a field goal. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said this week,
“He’s a stud. We saw it going into that first game week. He had been kind of in and out with some injuries in training camp, and he was locked in, ready to go. He was a guy (who) as soon as the pads came on in training camp, you felt him. He’s an every down player. He can play in the run, he’s tough, he’s physical, he runs to the ball, he’s smart, he can process. For an edge guy going into his third game, he’s playing at a really, really high level, and we’re excited by what we’ve seen.”
Through two weeks, Stewart is already earning snaps as the ‘joker’ in the Rams defense and looking like he could start if needed. Whereas Jared Verse tends to win with his power, Stewart adds another element of speed to the Rams pass rush rotation. It was Stewart’s speed that really stood out when he sacked Cam Ward.
As a pass rusher, Stewart ranks second behind only James Pearce Jr. in PFF’s Pass Rush Productivity metric with a PRP of 10.0. While his role is still relatively limited, playing just 23.8 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in Week 1 and then 37.9 percent in Week 2. However, if Stewart continues to play like this and improve, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get more playing time.
A big reason for that is how disciplined Stewart has been in the run game. Both Young and Verse tend to play overly aggressive in the run game. This can lead to them taking the cheese on play action fakes and crashing hard inside. It’s something that Verse struggled with at times last year and did so again in Week 2. In limited action, Stewart has shown discipline in the run game and been cognizant of his responsibility as the edge defender.
The early success of Stewart is another testament to how well the Rams have drafted in recent years, especially on the edge. General manager Les Snead drafted two impact starters in back-to-back drafts in Young and Verse. Needing to add another player to the rotation and potential replacement for Young when his contract expires next season, Snead managed to take Stewart, who already looks like a solid contributor. That doesn’t mention the interior players that Snead has drafted that have become impact pass rushers as well.
Most of the conversation this offseason when it came to Rams rookies was regarding Terrance Ferguson and Jarquez Hunter. However, while those players struggle to get snaps, Stewart is thriving. If Stewart can continue building on this early momentum, the Rams may have found yet another young difference-maker on the edge. He’s filled the void left by Hoecht and will hopefully continue to take it to the next level.
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