With the college football season over and the Super Bowl the only remaining game on the NFL schedule, much of the football talk around the country has shifted to the NFL Draft. On Thursday, Fox Sports analyst Rob Rang created a hypothetical draft scenario in which every player in the country, regardless of age, was eligible. In this interesting hypothetical, South Carolina rising sophomore Dylan Stewart earned a spot in Rang’s top-10 picks.
According to Rang, if eligibility rules didn’t exclude younger players, Stewart would be the No. 8 pick in the draft. That would make him the third underclassman (behind Texas quarterback Arch Manning and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith) selected. He also would be the second EDGE player off the board behind Penn State’s Abdul Carter. In this hypothetical, Stewart would stay local, too, as the Carolina Panthers hold the 8th pick in the 2025 draft.
In Rang’s explanation for the Stewart pick, the Fox analyst spoke glowingly of the South Carolina defender. He wrote, “Stewart has only completed one year at South Carolina, but he’s already earning some comparisons to (Jadeveon) Clowney, a former Gamecock and the 2014 No. 1 overall pick. Long-armed, powerful, and surprisingly polished, Stewart has a bright future.”
ability during his Gamecocks career. Despite Bronko Nagurski Trophy-winner Kyle Kennard gobbling up sacks on the other side of the line, Stewart still challenged Clowney’s freshman record and made plenty of impressive plays through double and triple teams. He seems destined for a future 1st-round selection.
In reality, though, Stewart will not be eligible for the NFL Draft until 2027. That means he has two more years left in garnet and black, much to the delight of South Carolina fans.
