Stewart at #22 anyone???

[ThatsmyQB]

Schien: Jonathan Stewart could be draft's hidden gem

Oregon's Stewart could be draft's hidden gem
by Adam Schein

I could barely get out a hello to former Oregon star Jonathan Stewart.

Stewart, the special running back who dazzled on the collegiate level with a brilliant and beautiful combination of power and speed, recently had surgery to correct turf toe. He treated my introduction like a defender in his path.
"Just to get the record straight, the recovery isn't 4-6 months. It is 3-4 months. I will be ready for training camp."

And hopefully, so does the rest of the NFL.

You see, in an NFL draft that lacks a bevy of impact players, Stewart has the chance to be the steal of the 2008 annual selection meeting.

Shame on the general manager who gets spooked by Stewart's toe surgery. This kid can do it all and has the body of work to prove it. He was a first-team All-Pac-10 running back. He set an Oregon record with 1,722 rushing yards, which ranks as the ninth-best single-season mark in conference history. He averaged a whopping 6.2 yards a carry and pounded in 11 touchdowns. Stewart was also a special kick returner, averaging 27 yards per return.

And if that wasn't enough, Stewart developed an ultra-special knack for not turning over the football.

At 5-foot-10 and 235 pounds, he has the size and strength of a fullback. He bursts like a scat back. And Stewart has the "it" factor that you simply cannot teach.

How many players have been compared to Larry Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson and Curtis Martin? How many players say they want to be a blend of Bo Jackson and Walter Payton, and then look like it on the field?

Stewart has heard the comparisons. And while he wants his own identity, he won't shy away from being compared to some of the best runners this decade.

He said, "Jonathan Stewart is Jonathan Stewart. I've heard the LaDainian Tomlinson comparisons and I agree with them. I think my style is also very similar to Curtis Martin. He was such a tough player. I pride myself on that. And I can also be Larry Johnson with his power. He is big and he is fast and he gets the yards necessary. That's what I do."

Stewart refuses to believe his stock will fall after the surgery, and he's correct. It shouldn't. Stewart gets rightly angry at mock drafts that have him slipping, some even out of the first round. He had toe surgery on the advice of several NFL doctors after being poked and examined at the combine. Several scouts and general managers were impressed that he still ran at the combine despite the toe injury.

On his rehab, Stewart told us, "It's going well. I got my stitches out and I am in a walking boot. It's really making progress. I just have to stay off of it as much as possible."

And there's one other myth that drives Stewart down right batty: The label that he is injury prone.

Jonathan Stewart insists that he's a durable back.

Stewart said sternly, "I am not injury prone. I've played through injuries, the normal aches and pains. My freshman year (when he was limited to 10 games with an ankle injury as a true freshman) was the only year where injuries limited me to not seeing the field as much as I would like to. After that, I learned to play through pain and tough it up.

"I want to play every game. I play every snap. I had an ankle injury and now this toe. That's been the only problems I have ever had playing football. It hasn't slowed me down yet and it won't slow me down. I had 250 yards against a very good South Florida team on a messed-up toe in our last game of the season. That's me. That's how I play through. That should show a lot."

There are some teams that should consider calling Stewart's name in Round 1. The Bears are desperate for a running back with toughness at 14. The Lions don't have a legit starting running back. The Cardinals crave a young back. Stewart, even if he sat out training camp, would be the starter by midseason in Houston and thrive behind an Alex Gibbs-coached line. Dallas needs to replace Julius Jones and has two picks in the first round. While Seattle signed Jones and T.J. Duckett, neither one has the star potential of Stewart. San Diego will draft a running back at some point, though Round 1 would be a stretch. But if for some reason Stewart is still on the board, he'd clearly be the best player left.

Stewart tells us he has a scheduled visit with the Cowboys coming up in early April. A Marion Barber/Stewart combination could be scary. With Barber unsigned past this year, it would make a lot of sense.

Stewart also says he really clicked with the staffs from Denver and Chicago. His lifelong dream is to play in front of the hometown folks in the great Northwest and be a Seahawk. He also loved rooting for Emmitt Smith's Cowboys teams.

I laugh at the March and early April "stock up, stock down" chatter. A body of work is a body of work. Stewart is a top prospect in the draft. He was advised to have toe surgery, and so he did. The last thing you want to do is bet against a return to brilliance.

I'm convinced!