Prior to the start of free agency many Steelers fans (including myself) thought that free agent linebacker Pernell McPhee would be a great addition to the Steelers’ defense to replace Jason Worilds.
McPhee was a big bodied linebacker that was capable of playing on the edge, as well as moving inside and playing with his hand in the dirt, and in some cases even playing in the middle as an interior rusher.
Unfortunately McPhee signed a big contract with the Bears once free agency began, but there’s another versatile front-7 defender coming out of McPhee’s alma mater of Mississippi State that would be a great addition to the Steelers’ defense.
Mississippi State defensive end Preston Smith compares favorably to McPhee in a lot of ways. Take a look at the combine numbers for each…
McPhee: 6’3″ 278 pounds, 34.375″ arm length, 4.93 forty, 20 bench reps, 7.13 3-cone drill
Smith: 6’5″ 271 pounds, 34″ arm length, 4.74 forty, 24 bench reps, 7.07 3-cone drill
As you can see, Smith’s size compares to McPhee’s with a little more athleticism. I particularly like Smith’s 3-cone time, which is a good drill for pass rushers. His 7.07 seconds was the best among defensive lineman at this years combine.
Obviously, measurables aren’t everything. Through much of the pre-draft process I ignored Smith because I’d read he was a 4-3 DE, but after watching the tape, I was really pretty blown away.
Smaller guys, such as Eli Harold of Virginia rely on their quickness, but are essentially done on a play once a tackle gets their hands on them. That’s not the case with Smith.
I came away really impressed watching Smith move all along the line, rushing from the end as well as from the nose tackle spot. Smith violently attacked blockers, and used his hands really well to shed blockers. He appears to be a high effort player as well, that doesn’t stop moving his feet until the whistle.
I have no doubt Smith would be a great run defender from day 1 from the OLB spot. On tape, he regularly split double teams. In one goal line series against LSU, Smith was involved in a great goal line stand, making his presence felt on 3 consecutive downs near the point of attack.
So why isn’t Preston being talked about more as a high first round pick?
Preston’s biggest weakness is he just isn’t a quick twitch type of player. He’s not going to blow up off the line of scrimmage the way Vic Beasley or Shane Ray will. He’s also pretty limited as far as pass rush moves go right now (though his swim move is pretty dangerous already).
I’ve been pushing Owa Odighizuwa a lot because he’d play early and hold up well on the strong side of the defense. I like Preston Smith for a lot of the same reasons.
Right now I think Smith probably goes late in the 1st or early in the 2nd round. An ideal scenario would be trading down and selecting Smith but right now I wouldn’t be completely opposed to using a pick on him at 22.
Smith, like Owa, would be a guy physically ready to hold his own at the NFL level, and handle his edge sealing duties while learning how to rush the passer along the way.
If you’ve ignored Smith so far because he’s “just a 4-3 end” like I did, do yourself a favor and go check out some game tape.
