Cardinals Show Interest in Projected Top 10 Draft Pick

The Arizona Cardinals met with Texas A&M Aggies edge rusher Shemar Stewart, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

" Texas A&M edge Shemar Stewart — whose freakish combine bolstered his case as a top-10 pick — is visiting the #Cardinals today," Pelissero wrote on Twitter/X.

"The AZ visit was scheduled before the combine for Stewart."

Texas A&M edge Shemar Stewart — whose freakish combine bolstered his case as a top-10 pick — is visiting the #Cardinals today.

The AZ visit was scheduled before the combine for Stewart, whom @LanceZierlein recently mocked to New Orleans at 9th overall.

pic.twitter.com/OmBp9U1DDR
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 5, 2025

Stewart - a 6-foot-5 and 267-pound man - ran a 4.59 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and put on an absolute show, grading out as the third-best defensive end ever in terms of athletic testing from RAS (relative athletic score):

Shemar Stewart is a DE prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.99 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 3 out of 1802 DE from 1987 to 2025.

Splits projected, Times unofficial.https://t.co/r9HXsXwSH4 pic.twitter.com/V2jH2WF8EJ
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) February 27, 2025

Pro Football Focus labeled Stewart as one of the biggest winners from Indianapolis:

"No player has done more to elevate their draft stock this offseason than Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart. At the Senior Bowl practices, Stewart dominated in pass-rush situations, winning four out of five pass-rush one-on-one reps, and he had a strip sack during the team period," wrote PFF.

"Then Stewart arrived in Indianapolis to put together one of the best performances of the combine. Stewart measured in at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds with long 34-inch arms. Then, at that size, he was able to run a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, and he added explosive jumps with 40 inches in the vertical and 10-foot-11 in the broad jump."

The Cardinals' need for an edge rusher is arguably Arizona's top need heading into the offseason. General manager Monti Ossenfort is highly expected to address the position in either free agency or the 2025 NFL Draft, where the Cardinals have Pick 16 in the first round.

The problem? Stewart likely won't be available for the Cardinals when they're on the clock. If they want him, Ossenfort and co. might have to make a move up the draft board into the top ten.

"No. Monti [Ossenfort] kind of sets the table with that, but whoever he says, 'let's do our homework on', I'm going to do my homework on. You never know how it's going to go," said head coach Jonathan Gannon at the Combine.

"We could be picking - I'm not going to put my foot in my mouth - you're picking 16 right now, it doesn't mean that's where we're going to be picking."

It seems like they're willing to wheel-and-deal, it just might be for Stewart.