Rookie SWOT: ArDarius Stewart

Travis May Posted On June 4, 2017

Editor’s Note: DLF is proud to bring you an annual staple series – the Rookie SWOT. These articles cover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved with rookies now that they’ve been drafted. Make sure you check out the DLF Rookie Draft Guide for all the information you need to dominate your rookie drafts.

Name: ArDarius Stewart
Position: Wide Receiver
Pro Team: New York Jets
College Team: Alabama
Draft Status: Round Three, Pick 15 (79 Overall)

Video Highlights

Combine Review

Height: 5’11”
Weight: 204 pounds
Hands: 9.375”
Arm Length: 32.5”
40-Yard Dash: 4.49
Vertical: 34”
Broad: 124”

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Strengths

The name ArDarius Stewart should here forth be synonymous with the word tenacious – that’s what comes to mind when watching the newest New York Jet. When we talk about strengths with ArDarius, the very first that comes to mind is just that, his strength. ArDarius may not be the largest wide receiver on the field in any given game, but he makes up for it. Stewart wins contested catches, runs right through defensive backs after the catch, and aggressively attacks the ball when he needs to. His 4.49 wheels threaten defenses just enough to give him cushion to work with. But ArDarius also wins with his hands and quick feet off the line if defensive backs decide to play him up close (albeit in a limited sample size).

ArDarius also brings fantastic versatility to his game. He can return kicks, run jet sweeps or end arounds, and he has (at least some) experience lining up in just about every wide receiver position. ArDarius can truly be a weapon all over the field. However, it’s not just about where he lines up. It’s about what he does after he has the ball in his hands that is so impressive. According to Pro Football Focus, ArDarius accumulated nearly two thirds of his receiving yardage after the catch in 2016 – he averaged over ten yards after the catch per completion. Some wide receivers in this class could hardly average ten yards per reception, let alone ten yards after the catch per reception.

Weaknesses

Stewart doesn’t seem to have too many glaring weaknesses, but there are definitely several areas where he could stand to improve. ArDarius isn’t exactly a very a good route runner. Part of that issue stems from the fact so many of his routes were of the shorter and simple variety (screens, slants, digs, outs, etc.). He also just wasn’t asked to win against tight man coverage that often. Yes, ArDarius could eat up ground moving vertically, but anyone can run a streaking nine route.

ArDarius also has a tendency to dance or try to bust everything to the sideline to hit a home run. He needs to learn to settle down and take what’s there sometimes – obviously this stems from his aforementioned tenacity, but he may find himself getting knocked out of games if he tries to get too cute or physical with an NFL linebacker over the middle. Beyond the route running and chasing home runs, ArDarius did struggle with drops at times, especially in 2016, but that can be fixed. ArDarius may not have a WR1 ceiling but it seems he could be a productive pro with simple improvements.

Opportunities

The best part of ArDarius Stewart as a prospect might just be his potential opportunity. Brandon Marshall left with his 128 targets leaving plenty of room for other wide receivers to step up this year. There are obviously a lot of questions about who those wide receivers will be, but there are plenty of snaps to be had unless the Jets vastly change their offense. Last season the Jets had four wide receivers on the field for around a third of their offensive snaps. All Stewart has to do is beat out a slew of sixth and seventh round wide receivers and their undrafted step cousins and he’ll see starting reps pretty quickly.

Threats

Okay, okay. It might not be that simple for ArDarius to see the field. There will already be two wide receivers assumed to be ahead of him: Quincy Enunwa and Eric Decker. Beyond those two, the Jets just drafted another decent wide receiver prospect in Chad Hansen and a pass-catching tight end in Jordan Leggett. I don’t assume they did that for kicks and giggles. Although it is the Jets we’re talking about. Remember, this is the team that drafted Hackenbad in the second round. But that’s beside the point. The Jets also still have Charone Peake, Jalin Marshall and a seemingly decent deep threat in Robby Anderson. One or two of those guys may not stick long-term, but they’re still legitimate competition until further notice. If that doesn’t scare you, the Jets have not one, not two, but now three pass catching running back options in Matt Forte, Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire. There may just not be enough targets to go around in an offense led by what quarterback? Yeah, I have no idea either.

Short-Term Expectations

ArDarius Stewart’s short-term value isn’t an easy puzzle to solve. He could easily plug into the Jets offense as the second or third target if Enunwa doesn’t turn out to be what off-season Rotoworld blurbs make him out to be and the other mediocre wide receivers do exactly what they should. However, Ardarius could also drop a few passes early like he did in 2016 and warm the seats on the New York benches until his rookie deal is done. The quarterback situation could also be a mess for years leaving his fantasy football value in the gutter. Realistically ArDarius should offer some hit or miss flex value as early as this year, but if you’re looking for the next Antonio Brown, look elsewhere.

Long-Term Expectations

Long-term, ArDarius very well may present Lee Evans-type upside. If you’re unfamiliar with that name, Evans had one great wide receiver one season in 2006, but most years he was just a solid flex or back-end WR2 for fantasy purposes. He could burn defenders deep, eat up some short range work, but struggled with drops and inconsistency leaving him out of any “elite” conversations for good – that’s obviously probably his ceiling. Regardless of what happens at quarterback in New York, ArDarius Stewart has a real opportunity to hold down the WR2 position there – if that happens, he’ll at least be worthy of a roster spot for a long time.

Rookie Draft Advice

According to Dynasty League Football’s rookie rankings ArDarius should be going around the end of round two in rookie drafts, but that simply isn’t happening. Through nine of my completed drafts this offseason, ArDarius almost always goes beyond pick thirty. In one draft he actually fell to pick 42. Since ArDarius was selected by such a dysfunctional offense, many people are discounting his potential talent level. ArDarius is by no means a target of mine, but may present decent value if he falls to the end of the third round. He’s not a talent worth trading up for, but you could do a lot worse as far as late round fliers go.

As always you can find me on Twitter @FF_TravisM.

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