Mazi Smith broke a very long streak of the Cowboys not drafting a defensive tackle in the first round, and that alone elevated expectations for the run stuffer. But it was never realistic to think Smith would come in and be a star defender right off the bat.
He was brought in to give the Cowboys another reliable run defender on the interior along with Johnathan Hankins. The idea was to get Smith’s feet wet as a rookie while learning from a veteran like Hankins, which is exactly what’s transpired thus far. Hankins is playing on 41.1% of all defensive snaps, second on the team for interior defenders, while Smith is playing on 25.7% of defensive snaps.
In training camp and the preseason, we saw some looks with both Smith and Hankins on the field at the same time, which seemed exciting. That has yet to become a thing, largely due to the emergence of Osa Odighizuwa as a star. Odighizuwa has played so well that it’s impossible to take him off the field, unless he needs a breather, which has cut down on the already limited role for Smith.
https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...-aubrey?ueid=d29e426080d34b77c2be722b7ff361fb
These are more complex in evaluations...
