Shemar Turner Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Maria Lysaker/USA Today Sports)

School: Texas A&M

Class: Senior

Position: IDL

HT: 6’3

WT: 290 lbs

CLICK HERE TO WATCH MY SHEMAR TURNER FILM BREAKDOWN

Background: Shemar Turner was a top 100 recruit in the nation for his class. He is from DeSoto, Texas and played for the town’s high school. He was a top 10 player in Texas and a top 10 defensive lineman in the nation. He led DeSoto to the state playoffs two years in a row. He was defensive player of the year for his sophomore season. Turner parlayed his impressive high school career into a plethora of big time offers. He chose Texas A&M over Auburn, Alabama, and others.

College: As a freshman, Turner was immediately one of the best players on that defensive line. He played in 8 games and was effective in the reps he was given. He was named to the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team. As a sophomore, he continued to improve his game. He started every game for the Aggies. He put up impressive volume statistics for a hand-in-the-dirt defensive lineman who was mostly utilized on the interior. Turner finished the 2023 season with 6 sacks and 10.5 TFLs after starting all 12 games. These numbers were good enough to land him an All-SEC Second Team selection. In 2024, Turner started every game for the Aggies. He put up the exact same sack and TFL numbers from the previous season.

Strengths: Shemar Turner is a physically imposing interior defensive lineman. He possesses a massive frame to pair with his freakish athleticism. This combination creates for a matchup nightmare for any offensive line. Turner explodes out of his stance and into the pads of his matchup. His power alone wins a significant amount of reps, allowing him to immediately get into the backfield. As a pass rusher, Turner shows that he has a full plan of initial and counter moves. He has excellent change of direction ability, allowing him to attack either side. Once he gets into the pocket, he has decent speed to pressure the quarterback. His athleticism allows him to kick out to the edge in certain personnel groupings. As a run defender, Turner does well to maintain gap integrity. He consistently gets to the ball carrier in the backfield, not allowing the offensive linemen to displace him while also not letting them advance to the second level.

Weaknesses: Turner has not had tremendous pass rushing production during his time as an Aggie. His counter moves are not consistently effective and he usually gets stalled after his initial rush. Turner is a bit of a tweener, which is great for versatility, but just like those hybrid linebackers, Turner is too small to play at one position and too big to play at the other. He could afford to either beef up, or slim down in exchange for more athleticism and speed.

Conclusion: Turner can come into the NFL and provide meaningful versatility in a defensive line rotation. He will be able to handle multiple different assignments within a defense. He is an alignment versatile defensive lineman who should be able to create some pressure to muddy the pocket on the interior.

Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile

Ideal Role: 3 tech

Best Team Fits: LAC, NYG, CIN

Player Comparison: Braden Fiske

Player Grade: Round 2 (81.1)