“I could have practiced,” he said. “But they knew what they’re doing.”
Stewart’s strengths are his vision, one-cut explosion through the hole and contact balance despite his small frame. The biggest question mark is how a guy this size can protect franchise quarterback J.J. McCarthy if called upon in the passing game.
“We have a good example of that right in our room with Aaron Jones [5-9, 208] being one of the best pass-protecting, quote-unquote, ‘every-down’ backs we have in the league,” O’Connell said. “He’s not necessarily the biggest, strongest guy, but show me a guy who is doing some of the things that Aaron does.”
Stewart said he worked extra hard on the fundamentals of pass protection at Jacksonville State even though the Gamecocks employ an almost exclusively “ground-and-pound” offense.
“I knew the only way I can make it to the NFL was if I can pass protect,” Stewart said.
With that, Stewart looked up at the Vikings’ monstrous facility and down at his purple No. 38 jersey. He was asked how much Vikings history he knew.