Darian Stewart Scouting Report

At this point, the biggest mystery on the Baltimore Ravens' defense is Darian Stewart.

Ravens fans generally know three things about him: his name, that he will be a starting safety, and that he's known more as a run-stuffer than a coverage guy.

His actual style of play is a relative mystery to all but the most die-hard fans, and his signing barely registered for most.

So for all of those who need a primer on the Ravens' presumptive starting safety, here's a scouting report on the least-known name on the Ravens' defense.

Overview

The St. Louis Rams frequently used Stewart close to the line of scrimmage, which is where he seemed most comfortable. The Ravens have been known to do the same thing with guys like Bernard Pollard and James Ihedigbo, so the fit seems pretty natural.

Ask him to move downhill, and Stewart can be a functioning starter. But once you ask him to drop backwards, he's mediocre.

That said, Stewart has a smart tendency to keep plays in front of him. I never saw him get beat deep, as he played deep pass plays very conservatively in his deep zone. This makes sense. As a player who is at his best playing downhill, Stewart is wise to keep plays in front of him at all times.

In sum, Stewart is a guy who will blend in to a quality defense but rarely stand out. He will not make too many mistakes, but he won't make big plays either. His play this preseason has done nothing to change that.

Strengths

One area where Stewart stood out was defending screen passes. He is aggressive in sniffing them out and minimizing the damage, and he can't be blocked effectively by receivers.

Robert Turbin runs a basic screen play to the outside, while Darian Stewart has a deep half responsibility.

Stewart aggressively sniffs out the screen, makes the tackle and minimizes the damage.

Aggressiveness in pursuit is a defining characteristic for Stewart. He can never be counted out of a play. When moving downhill, either defending the run or attacking screens, Stewart is very good.

In man coverage, Stewart shows the ability to guard tight ends effectively. Very few tight ends are athletic enough to escape him, and he's strong enough to handle them both in jump ball situations and at the line of scrimmage.

Best of all, Stewart showed signs of improvement as the 2013 season wore on. His backpedal appeared more natural late in the season than at the beginning, and missed tackles were fewer late in the year.

Finally, Stewart stands up to blocking well.  Most tight ends couldn't move him, and he even took on offensive linemen at times.

Weaknesses

The below play sums up Stewart's biggest weaknesses: Poor angles and shoddy tackling.

Stewart's starting positioning on the below gif.

This play sums up Stewart's most noticeable weaknesses.

Stewart took poor angles far too often, as he appeared to over-estimated his speed, especially when playing in the box.

Yet without question, Stewart's biggest weakness is his tackling. That's surprising for a safety with a reputation as a run-stuffer, but it's true. The problem is that Stewart hits... he doesn't tackle. Very rarely did Stewart wrap up, resulting in way too many missed tackles.

Stewart fails to wrap up on this tackle of Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew stumbled forward for an extra two yards on the play.

Stewart always kept plays in front of him when in deep zones (typically either quarters or Cover 2), but lacked range to affect passes outside his immediate area.

He also lacks the athleticism to cover receivers and some running backs, and was not asked to do so often in St. Louis.

In summation, those hoping for a centerfielder like Ed Reed will be disappointed. In this sense, Stewart has made very few impact plays in his career, with just one career interception.