erod
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After a night of shaking my head, I've looked into this Tyson Smith pick further, and it's really not that bad of a reach pick.
He's not the traditional "project player" that we all tend to hate in early rounds.
Smith is big enough, strong enough, quick enough, and nasty enough to play in the league RIGHT NOW. I get so tired of waiting for guys to spend 2 years in the weight room before they can stand up to NFL defensive linemen. Not the case with this kid. He's ready in that regard.
Technique isn't hard to teach if the player has the athletic and physical tools already. Smith will require coaching, but he's also got Tyron right next to him, and he has very much the same frame.
Smith is a natural left tackle, so he can immediately play at guard, then slide over when Tyron retires. That alone makes a ton of sense to pick a guy like this.
At that point in the draft with what was left, I would have preferred one of the two linebackers there so Parsons could run free. However, this offensive line issue is looming large, and so I get it.
Plus, I do trust McClay, and apparently he like this guy a lot even if it wasn't his preferred pick to fall to Dallas.
Tonight has to make this pick make perfect sense however.
He's not the traditional "project player" that we all tend to hate in early rounds.
Smith is big enough, strong enough, quick enough, and nasty enough to play in the league RIGHT NOW. I get so tired of waiting for guys to spend 2 years in the weight room before they can stand up to NFL defensive linemen. Not the case with this kid. He's ready in that regard.
Technique isn't hard to teach if the player has the athletic and physical tools already. Smith will require coaching, but he's also got Tyron right next to him, and he has very much the same frame.
Smith is a natural left tackle, so he can immediately play at guard, then slide over when Tyron retires. That alone makes a ton of sense to pick a guy like this.
At that point in the draft with what was left, I would have preferred one of the two linebackers there so Parsons could run free. However, this offensive line issue is looming large, and so I get it.
Plus, I do trust McClay, and apparently he like this guy a lot even if it wasn't his preferred pick to fall to Dallas.
Tonight has to make this pick make perfect sense however.