Versatile DE Preston Smith a Premium Prospect Without the Price Tag

For teams looking for premium players past the first 15 picks or so in the 2015 NFL draft, there won’t be many options. The Seattle Seahawks decided to trade their first-round pick for tight end Jimmy Graham because they only have 16 first-round grades, per Peter King of themmqb.com.

Teams drafting at the end of the first round and the early second round will have to look at prospects differently. Among the traits that are always at a premium are versatility, size and athleticism. Mississippi State defensive end Preston Smith has all of those traits but one lucky NFL team will probably be able to get him without using a premium pick.

Smith impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl, combine and his pro day, but there has been surprisingly little buzz about the 6’5” 271-pound pass-rusher with 34” arms and 10 5/8” hands. That’s curious at this time of year, unless teams quietly love him.

Height	Weight	Arm Length	Hand Size
40	Broad	3 Cone	Long Shuttle
6'5"	271	34"	10 5/8"
4.74	10'1"	7.07	11.70

There is, admittedly, a lot to love about Smith. Aside from possessing great size and length, he tested well and he was a team captain. He’s also scheme diverse as he can either play base defensive end and slide inside on passing downs in a 4-3 defense or play full-time defensive end in a 3-4 front.

Smith’s various pro comparisons include Antonio Smith, Justin Tuck and Malik Jackson. Teams just want to see him be more explosive off the ball, but he checks every other box you look for in a top end in that mold. From a size perspective, he’s a 'tweener, but you could certainly see him add or lose weight depending on the team that drafts him.

When you turn on the video of Smith, you can instantly see what he can do for your defense. He’s stout against the run, using his long arms to keep defenders away from his body. Smith easily disengages from most blockers to find ball-carriers.

Although Smith doesn’t make the tackle on this play, you can see how he uses his long arms to control the blocker. He disengages, sets the edge and the running back is forced to turn it back inside where one of Smith’s teammates cleans up the tackle.

On the next play, we see what Smith can do for a team in the passing game. Smith bumps inside and wins with his quickness on a swim move. Smith applies quick pressure in the face of the quarterback, who throws incomplete on 3rd-and-10. Punt.

Smith isn’t a pass-rusher who is going to bend the edge consistently, and that’s okay. He can make up for it with agility, length and quick feet as you see here. The blocker must respect his quickness inside, but when Smith goes outside the defender is out of position.

Smith is able to apply pressure on a quick fade. That’s all you can ask of any pass-rusher in such a situation. If a team can get him to fire off the ball lower and quicker in the pros, which sort of goes hand-in-hand, Smith can be even more effective as a pass-rusher.

As a run-stuffer, Smith can help a team right away. Despite sometimes playing higher than he should, Smith does a good job getting underneath blockers and not giving ground in the run game. His length and strength help him in this regard.

On this sequence against LSU, Smith does his part to keep them from scoring. Smith not only doesn’t give up ground, but he pushes his blockers back and gives his teammates a chance to make the play.

On early downs, Smith is going to set the edge for you. He’ll play end on early downs and won’t be a total liability from that position even if teams are passing. If paired with an interior disruptor and speed rusher on the opposite side, Smith will still find his way to the quarterback.

In clear passing situations, Smith will win with quickness on the inside. A team that is willing to move Smith around will find they can get production out of him on all three downs.

Here’s Smith against LSU beating the center with his length and quickness. Smith didn’t get there because he drew the block from the running back, but in the pros, teams won’t always be able to devote an extra blocker to him.

Here’s what happens when LSU doesn’t leave a running back in to chip. Smith uses strong, quick hands and burst to squirt past the blocker and make the sack.

On play after play on third down, we see Smith disrupt plays rushing from the inside. Here is Smith splitting a double team to make the sack after a bad snap.

He might not be that flashy, but Smith is a very good football player that can help a team on three downs. The fact that he tested so well at the combine suggests that there might be even more unlocked potential in his game.

The knock on Smith are that he doesn’t fire off the ball with the kind of quick twitch athleticism teams like to see. He certainly has some other areas of his game he can clean up and he’ll never be a true edge-bending pass-rusher, but he can do enough for a defense to merit coming off the board as soon as all the players with first-round grades are gone.

Used correctly, Smith will be a versatile asset for any defense. Once the top edge players are off the board, Smith will provide good value to a team looking to beef up their defensive front.

Look for a team like the New Orleans Saints to use the pick they acquired from the Seahawks to look hard at Smith. The Saints need a player like Smith to help an ailing run defense without sacrificing too much against the pass. It’s worth noting that the Saints traded one pick ahead of the New England Patriots, who signed 6’3” 266-pound defensive end Jabaal Sheard the next day.

If Smith slips into the second round, the Oakland Raiders may be a natural fit. The Raiders have Tuck and Antonio Smith, and new head coach Jack Del Rio helped get the most from Jackson in Denver. Smith also compares to 6’5” 275-pound defensive end Jack Crawford, who Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie took in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and stuck on the roster for two years.

Given his abilities, don’t expect Smith to slip too much on draft day. Smith may even slip into the first round given the lack of first-round talents this year, but even if he doesn’t, he’ll be exceptional value in the second round.