Greg Cosell of NFL Films: 'I really loved ArDarius Stewart on tape'
As I was putting together a feature story on Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson at the Scouting Combine, I consulted with Greg Cosell.
A producer at NFL Films for the last 37 years, Cosell is a guru of the game when it comes to tape study. He’s also one of the best interviews in the business and someone I’ve leaned on for insight many times before.
While he doesn’t watch a lot of college football during the regular season — he’s consumed by the professional game six days per week — Cosell catches up once preparations begin for the draft. By the time he arrives in Indianapolis every year for the combine, he’s seen most of the top prospects and graded them accordingly.
Cosell isn’t a big fan of Robinson necessarily. He sees a quality starting guard at the next level, not a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle.
However, as he was evaluating Robinson on tape, another member of the Crimson Tide offense jumped off the screen. Receiver ArDarius Stewart, who departed Tuscaloosa a year early to enter the draft, caught Cosell’s trained eye.
A 5-foot-11, 204-pounder, Stewart led ‘Bama last year with 864 yards receiving — despite the fact that fellow wideout Calvin Ridley reeled in 72 passes to his 54 — and 8 touchdowns. He averaged an even 16 yards per catch, which was significantly more than Ridley’s 10.7, and also contributed here and there as both a rusher and a passer.
Even if Cosell hadn’t fired up the film to specifically watch Stewart, he simply couldn’t take his eyes off the Birmingham native.
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“For me, I love when it’s virgin territory,” Cosell told me, “when I don’t really know anything about the player, and then I put the tape in and I have no preconceived notion. As I said, it gets harder as we go further along because I don’t live under a rock. I try not to read all these articles because I don’t want to be predisposed before I watch a guy.”
According to CBS Sports, Stewart is projected as a third- or fourth-round choice. Should the more celebrated Ridley decide to leave the Tide early after the 2017 campaign, he’ll surely be in the conversation for Round 1 next spring.
Stewart may not have been one of the “winners” of the combine in terms of his measurables, although most of his numbers were in line with what teams are looking for at the next level. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds with a vertical jump of 34 inches and a broad jump of 10’4″ — all middle of the pack among pass catchers.
But anybody who has watched Alabama closely the last two seasons knows how many big plays and tough catches can be credited to Stewart.
“I really loved ArDarius Stewart on tape,” Cosell said. “I don’t know the kid. I don’t know any of that stuff. I just think on tape he was really good.”
The combine has become a made-for-TV event broadcast soup to nuts by NFL Network. It lends itself to crazy-fast 40 times and crazy-strong bench presses, even though so many workout warriors have failed to make an impact on Sunday.
At the receiver position specifically, Washington’s John Ross set the all-time record — at least dating back to 2003, when digital timing became the norm — with a blistering time of 4.22 seconds. Ohio State’s Curtis Samuel ran a 4.31, which is blazing in its own right and almost a full tenth of a second faster than anyone other than Ross.
After Ross and Samuel, a ton of wideouts ran in the 4.4s. Stewart was one of them and didn’t get a lot of attention at the event as a result.
It’s not like the Crimson Tide haven’t produced their fair share of pass catchers in recent years. Julio Jones might be the best player in the league at the position and Amari Cooper isn’t too far behind him.
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However, Ridley is considered the heir apparent to Jones and Cooper, not Stewart. Perhaps another season of college ball — particularly if rising sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts becomes a more efficient passer — would’ve put Stewart in higher regard among scouts and perhaps moved him up the draft board for 2018.
He couldn’t wait, though. Stewart’s combine profile at NFL.com suggests that he could hear his name called as early as Round 2:
Alabama’s passing offense ranked 87th in the country in 2016 with only 210.3 yards per contest, but that’s no reflection on Stewart’s talent. He did what he could to help a freshman quarterback in Jalen Hurts, catching 54 passes for 864 yards and eight scores and rushing for 68 yards on eight carries. He was a first-team All-SEC pick despite missing three games, two to a leg injury and a third via suspension for ‘violating behavior rules’ per head coach Nick Saban. Stewart also had an important pass play in the national championship game to keep the Tide alive in the fourth quarter. He started every game in the team’s title run the previous year, making 63 grabs for 700 yards and four scores. As a redshirt freshman in 2014, Stewart was a two-game starter (12-149 receiving). After being graded as a potential second-round pick by the NFL Draft Advisory Committee, Stewart decided to declare for the draft to take care of his two children and the rest of his family.
Cosell’s grade on Stewart is closer to the advisory committee’s than that of the experts at CBS. He came to that conclusion entirely on his own, too. At the combine, it can be difficult to escape the predetermined narratives on many prospects.
“I thought he was a more explosive Golden Tate-type player,” Cosell said.
Tate wouldn’t be a bad pro for Stewart to emulate. A second-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2010 draft out of Notre Dame, he signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency four seasons later. During his three years in the Motor City — including a Pro Bowl berth in 2014 — he’s never had fewer than 90 catches.
Best of all, Tate now possesses a five-year contract worth $31 million. Not bad coin for a second-rounder. Stewart should be so lucky.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
