The Browns made a bit of an under-the-radar move on Saturday, claiming M.J. Stewart off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Stewart lives up to his potential in Cleveland, the slot corner won’t be under the radar for long.
Stewart is a 5-11, 195-pound cornerback who was Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He ran into a bit of a numbers game in Tampa Bay, which has spent significant recent draft resources on the secondary aside from Stewart.
He played in 21 games over his first two seasons, starting six. Stewart is almost exclusively a slot corner and that projects to be his path to playing time in Cleveland.
I featured Stewart as the Browns Wire “Prospect of the Day” back before the 2018 draft. The overall summary from that analysis has proven to be pretty spot-on based on his Buccaneers career,
An excellent tackler and aggressive run defender, he’s a great fit for teams who like to attack from the slot. Stewart is confident and exhibits a decent football IQ.
His lack of speed and inconsistent start to plays are real detriments.
He will need to anticipate routes better pre-snap to help mitigate his lack of long speed. Faster WRs will run away from him and Stewart doesn’t have the “chase” gear to catch up in the open field. It was even more glaring in the NFL than it was in college.
Being in the slot helps cover his lack of speed, and it also augments his value as a run defender and blitzer, an area where he thrived in college but the Bucs ignored.
In Cleveland, Stewart projects as the physical slot corner. He’s the opposite style of Kevin Johnson, the team’s other current slot CB. Stewart wins with physicality, press coverage and savvy run defense. He did miss some tackles in Tampa Bay but almost all were after the catch and not against the run. That speaks to his speed limitations and ability to play deeper down the field, which is why he’s not a lock to make the roster.
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