With all the news circulating around Myles Garrett, it's easy to miss that there's a young, energetic pass rusher could force his way into a bigger role on the Los Angeles Rams in 2026 -- former third-round pick Josiah Stewart.
The Rams defense is loaded as some would say and that is just looking at the starters only. They took a defense that was already in the top three in the league after the Trent McDuffie trade and somehow made it even better by trading for Garrett. That alone should just tell you how loaded this defense really is. Then when you start looking at the backups you start to notice that they are loaded with talent there too. That's where Stewart comes into play.
Why Should Rams Fans Be Excited For Josiah Stewart
With adding someone like Myles Garrett it has allowed defensive coordinator Chris Shula to be able to move his pass rush around like chess pieces to create the perfect match up on every down. This helps every other Rams pass rusher coming behind Garrett when every offensive coordinator will be sending double blocks at him. That puts one less lineman to block someone like Stewart who had great moments last season piling up three sacks and six QB hits in his sample size of action last year.
Stewart brings speed, strength and versatility to a Rams pass rush that was truly living and dying off Jared Verse’s bull-rushing ability. Josaiah brings more moves and abilities to get after the quarterback than Verse did, that isn’t a total knock at Jared that is just fact. He is a great bull-rush specialist but he doesn’t really have other moves to get off chip blocks and other lineman who can defend his near dominating singular move.
What kind of Season Should We Expect From Stewart?
After his play allowed him to see the field 375 times over the 2025 season on both special teams and defense and PFF gave him a pass-rush grade of 74.0 which was 28th among 115 qualified pass-rushers. That number is only going to get better coming into his second season, I expect him to at least double his sack count, QB-hits and pressures. Anything less could potentially hurt the Rams Super Bowl chances and could force the team to potentially start looking to replace him in the 2026 draft that will also be loaded with pass-rush talent.
