Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Three things to know about M.J. Stewart

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DURHAM, NC – NOVEMBER 10: M.J. Stewart #6 of the North Carolina Tar Heels breaks up a pass to T.J. Rahming #3 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

3. He Plays the Ball Well

M.J. Stewart has good ball skills, regardless of where he plays on the field. He left the University of North Carolina as the all-time leader in career passes defended with a mark of 47. He had six interceptions as a Tar Heel, but oddly enough, none of those came in the last two seasons.

Despite the lack of interceptions, he earned plenty of attention for his play in the last few years. In 2017, he finished the year with 45 tackles, five for loss, two sacks, two quarterback pressures and twelve passes defended. He earned All-ACC honorable mention for the second year in a row. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-ACC second team.

Obviously, a player doesn’t tally pass breakups at the rate that Stewart did without a knack for playing the ball well. He plays well in off-man and press-man coverage, but Lance Zierlein of NFL.com says he also reads patterns well, is “instinctive and cautious not to bite on double moves” and “makes it a point to drape himself over slot targets as early in the route as possible.” Those are certainly good qualities for him to have no matter where the Bucs use him in the secondary. As previously mentioned, Tampa Bay finished the 2017 season with the worst pass defense in the NFL.

Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans react to new secondary

That’s it, Bucs fans. M.J. Stewart is your newest defensive back. Take some time to find him on Twitter @Checkout_Marv and welcome him to Tampa Bay.

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