2011 NFL Draft: NFL Network Rips Jimmy Smith, Will His Background Cost Him?

On Wednesday's NFL Network show "Path To The Draft," Mike Mayock and former NFL general manager Charley Casserly put former Colorado defensive back Jimmy Smith in the spotlight. 

Neither commentator had nice things to say about Smith, and one has to wonder where he will end up being drafted.

Nobody questions Smith's abilities on the field, where he has shown that he can be a shutdown corner. He's big, fast and can play press coverage well.

Mayock and Casserly weren't concerned about Smith's on the field history; they were concerned with his off-the-field past.

The facts are that Smith tested positive for drugs in 2007 and was twice arrested for possession of alcohol as a minor. 

Are these factors going to scare off teams that are in need of a defensive back?

Mayock thinks so.

On Wednesday's show, he felt that any team drafting Smith needed to adopt a "buyer beware" attitude. He later went on to say, "I wouldn't touch him in the first round."

Casserly echoed Mayock's assessment, stating that you can predict one's future actions by looking at their past actions.

But is that fair?

Is it fair to sully a kid's reputation based on actions he took in college, no matter how ill-advised they were? Isn't college when you are supposed to make stupid decisions?

It will be interesting to see if and how far Smith falls in this year's draft. Without a doubt, he has first-round talent, and if he does fall it will be because of these off-the-field issues.

But how do teams even make a judgment on these things?

The Seattle Seahawks need help in their defensive backfield, among other things, and if Smith is on the board when they draft at 25, it will tempting for them to select him. They will have to make a determination as to whether there is enough concern to make the million-dollar investment in a young kid who, like most kids his age, are still trying to figure out life.

This isn't the first time a college prospect has been dogged by his past. While Mike Holmgren was the general manager in Seattle, he twice gambled on guys with these off-field questions.

In 2001, Holmgren felt that Koren Robinson's previous legal troubles weren't concerning enough and went ahead and took the wide receiver with the ninth pick in the draft.

The next year, he rolled the dice again and selected Jerramy Stevens with the 28th selection. Like Robinson, Stevens had a questionable past, but Holmgren felt he had matured enough and picked him.

Both of these players proved they still hadn't matured and further DUI and legal trouble followed, stunting what could have potentially been great careers.

Even though the Seahawks front office has changed, will those recent examples scare them off Smith?

Or will they meet with him and learn what they can and feel comfortable drafting him?

In 1995, Warren Sapp was considered so talented coming out of the University of Miami that many felt he could be the No. 1 pick overall—except he had a history of being caught with marijuana while in college and slipped down to the 12th pick.

Sapp went on to have a Hall-of-Fame type career and win a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.

So how do teams decide whether or not Smith, or any other player with a past, is the next Koren Robinson or the next Warren Sapp?

The only way we will know for sure how Seattle or other teams feel is to watch what happens on draft day.