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DT Mazi Smith, Michigan
One question: what's the line of scrimmage worth to you? For me, it's everything, especially for a DC Steve Spagnuolo defense that proved that it can unlock its true capability if they take the run away from teams. Smith is not a slam dunk, but he is a good bet to help you get there. A powerful tree trunk of a man with pretty good athleticism, he should test better at the Combine than he actually is, DT Khalen Saunders style.
Saunders, honestly, may be a fair comparison. Smith lacks Saunders on-field speed, but he is far more of a bully in the trenches. He is not moved easily, shows good ability to be a block of granite in short yardage situations, and can still ride a lineman out on stretch runs. He is not your typical phone booth tackle. But he's going to be a bit more limited in that regard in the NFL, because despite his great size, it's written that he doesn't have longer arms -- we'll see what the Combine says. He should still be tough to move, but he may not be able to ride lineman out wide as much as he used to, and he may not command a lot of double teams as a result. Playing style, he reminds me a lot of DT Shaun Smith when we had him for a year. He's thick, plays looser than a guy his size should, and is just completely worthless against the pass.
Comparisons to Saunders and Smith make a good deal of sense, but I do want to be clear: neither one of these guys controlled the line of scrimmage on run downs like this guy does. But that's what you're bringing him in for, and I'll be interested to see reporting on how severe his red flags are after teams continue to interview him on his past. For now, I think he's a 3rd rounder in talent, at a position the Chiefs need. But he could fall out of the draft altogether if teams are spooked by his past.
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