When scouting college cornerbacks, there are a few traits that stand out more than others. The first is how well they can anticipate and react to the action. Are they confident in their reads? How many wasted steps do they take? The second is how physical they play. Can they alter the plans of receivers at the point of attack? Do they hit hard and tackle well? When watching North Carolina’s bright spot of the struggling team, MJ Stewart, he gets major plus marks on both of those sections of the scouting report among others. The fourth year senior brings the same level of play to the field week in, week out. He may not get the national exposure as some of the other top corners in the country, but he may very well be among the top names in the group come next April.
What He Does Well
There may not be a more physical cornerback in this class than Stewart. Some teams may even look at his size and style of play, and end up putting him on their safety board. He is that kind of downhill, powerful presence. He hits with presence and pairs that with effective, consistent wrap up technique. In coverage, Stewart has a knack for getting his hands on the ball. He times his reach and understands how to position his body to avoid penalties. The anticipation he shows when he is facing the action is top notch and teams that run a lot of zone coverage will be especially interested in him.
Where He Needs Work
Stewart’s glaring weakness may be something that won’t see a ton of improvement on. He isn’t very fast when it comes to turning his back to the line of scrimmage and chasing a deep route runner. If he doesn’t have an initial positional advantage, he will have a hard time keeping up with the speed of NFL receivers. This is another reason why certain schemes in the league may view him as a safety. When he isn’t moving downhill or watching the action in front of him, his caliber of movement goes down a couple notches.