Mazi Smith isn't that great

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pansophy said:
Vince Wilfork is who people should be thinking about as an ideal outcome. Long NFL career of making the Patriots defense work and very few stats to show for it.
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Wilfork had 13 sacks in two years starting at the U. Mazi had 0.5.

Even the archetypical plugger NT could beat college linemen consistently.
 
Mac_MaloneV1 said:
Cowboys fans have been begging for this for a decade.
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Not only that, the next choice at the position would have been Benton and he was long gone at 58. If they passed on Smith at 26 they would have missed the boat at dtackle and still would have that huge hole going forward.
 
rambo2 said:
Not only that, the next choice at the position would have been Benton and he was long gone at 58. If they passed on Smith at 26 they would have missed the boat at dtackle and still would have that huge hole going forward.
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Yea. They reached for a guy they think can contribute because it's a crappy draft class.

But it's not really a hole that needs to be filled. It's a wasted pick if Smith can't penetrate or play in the backfield at all.
 
Mac_MaloneV1 said:
Yea. They reached for a guy they think can contribute because it's a crappy draft class.

But it's not really a hole that needs to be filled. It's a wasted pick if Smith can't penetrate or play in the backfield at all.
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He certainly can penetrate. I see absolutely no way that it is a wasted pick.
 
rambo2 said:
He certainly can penetrate. I see absolutely no way that it is a wasted pick.
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I think he can, but who knows what he becomes in the NFL.

He's never going to deliver first-round value, but he can be a good player that isn't a "wasted pick."
 
rambo2 said:
I think he has a good shot at delivering first round value.
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Is he going to have a pass-rush win up near 20%? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but I doubt it.

The only path to being a first-round value at DT is being a threat on the passrush. That doesn't necessarily mean racking up sacks, but it does mean consistently beating blockers into the backfield. There's only a handful in the league right now.
 
Mac_MaloneV1 said:
Is he going to have a pass-rush win up near 20%? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but I doubt it.

The only path to being a first-round value at DT is being a threat on the passrush. That doesn't necessarily mean racking up sacks, but it does mean consistently beating blockers into the backfield. There's only a handful in the league right now.
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The Chiefs and the Saints were also prepared to draft him in the first round. The Chiefs wanted to trade up to get him because they didn't think he would make it past the Saints at 29.
 
Mac_MaloneV1 said:
Is he going to have a pass-rush win up near 20%? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but I doubt it.

The only path to being a first-round value at DT is being a threat on the passrush. That doesn't necessarily mean racking up sacks, but it does mean consistently beating blockers into the backfield. There's only a handful in the league right now.
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Also, interesting that the Bills just signed Poonah Ford. They might have taken Smith at 27 if the Cowboys would have passed on him.
 
rambo2 said:
The Chiefs and the Saints were also prepared to draft him in the first round. The Chiefs wanted to trade up to get him because they didn't think he would make it past the Saints at 29.
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Yes because this draft required reaching for players in the first round to fill roles because there was very little talent worthy of the draft slots. In 2020, Smith might've been a 4th rounder.

Other teams wanting to draft a guy doesn't change the fact that it's a reach, and not great value.
 
I mean, there will be flaws to players picked at the end of the first.
Smith has athletic traits that could be developed/built on and there's "potential". He isn't just some fat slow plugger.
There's a chance he can develop more in the NFL. Or maybe not.
 
Mac_MaloneV1 said:
Yes because this draft required reaching for players in the first round to fill roles because there was very little talent worthy of the draft slots. In 2020, Smith might've been a 4th rounder.

Other teams wanting to draft a guy doesn't change the fact that it's a reach, and not great value.
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Smith wasn't a reach and he was an excellent pick for the Cowboys. It makes a huge difference in having him instead of ending up with nothing at the dtackle position.
 
rambo2 said:
Smith wasn't a reach and he was an excellent pick for the Cowboys. It makes a huge difference in having him instead of ending up with nothing at the dtackle position.
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If he is just a run-defender, then yes, he's a reach. That is a skillset with very little value.

He's not a reach, today, given the context of the low-quality 2023 draft, but he's not a first-round talent. If you put his tape next to other DT classes - he's a third-round grade. Very comparable player to Alim McNeill, who went #72.
 
Let's remember that Superbowl champion KC Chiefs wanted to trade for him in the first round.
 
zrinkill said:
Let's remember that Superbowl champion KC Chiefs wanted to trade for him in the first round.
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Same org that drafted Mecole Hardman over DK Metcalf, when every draftnik and their mother had Metcalf ranked higher.
 
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