Winning the BCS National Championship helped Telvin Smith's draft status a lot. Tallying fifteen total tackles (according to espn.com), Smith was a big part of that win. His stats for the year included approximately 83 tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions. Smith returned both of those interceptions for touchdowns. He has his upsides and his downsides, but he could turn into a very good player. Shall we take a look?
I want to start with the negatives to get them out of the way and to try and refute them. The largest one is plain to see. Telvin Smith is 6'3"-great height-but he's only 218 lbs. That's the size of a safety, albeit a big safety. Kam Chancellor of the Seahawks plays strong safety at 6'3" and 232 lbs. Taylor Mays of the Bengals plays free safety at 6'3" and 220 lbs. Get the idea? The naysayers of Telvin Smith say he has too small a frame, that he looks much more like a safety, and that he may even have a better chance of making it with a position switch.
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| from: news.yahoo.com |
Most of the other negatives have to do with his size. He has issues shedding blocks, he can disappear when trying to navigate through traffic, and he struggles to bring down larger backs. Smith also isn't a great blitzer. There's also questions that since he played with such a great defensive line at Florida State, he really hasn't had to contend with blockers much.
"He can get bigger!" most supporters of Telvin Smith say. And, honestly, if he wants to play linebacker he will need to get bigger. But that's possible. If I remember right, Matt Kalil came in at about 295 lbs. Once the Vikings got hold of him he's been staying around 305. Some athletes-and others-have extremely fast metabolisms. A lot of work has to go into keeping someone's weight up, especially if they are a professional athlete. But there is a lot of money in each franchise of the National Football League, and there are people that could help Telvin Smith bulk up if that's what he wanted to do. So if the Vikings pass on a bunch of linebackers in the first few rounds, or they decide to grab another one, I don't see Smith's weight being an issue.
Telvin Smith is great in pass coverage. I'm posting a graph from bleacherreport.com below that outlines his rating at different skills. Check his rating at pass coverage. Some of you are probably saying he better be good in coverage if he's going to play that small. But here's my thinking. Chad Greenway is getting older, but he can still hold down the strongside spot for a few more years, if not longer. We could probably be okay with Audie Cole in the middle, but if we land C.J. Mosley or Chris Borland, we'd have that spot locked down. Then we'd just need a weakside linebacker, and what do weakside linebackers need to be able to do? Well, yes, I'm sure the assignment is different in different schemes, but if our defensive line is going to be predominantly responsible for putting pressure on the quarterback, then linebackers need to be good in pass coverage (we've been a cover 2 team for as long as I've been intensely obsessed with the Vikings). The league has also become pass heavy, and linebackers who excel in coverage can't ever be a bad thing.
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| from: bleacherreport.com |
Many of the reasons he is good in pass coverage make him good in defending the run as well. He's fast-he ran a 4.53 at the combine. He can change direction very quickly and suddenly, which is a great skill to have when going up against a Reggie Bush or LeSean McCoy. He keeps his eyes up and reads the play quickly. Though not as beneficial in pass defense, Smith is great at avoiding blocks with his speed and agility. Granted, he's had to compensate for his smaller size, but it's nice to know he did compensate.
One last positive I want to mention. Nfl.com notes that Telvin Smith is a "fiery, emotional leader on the field." I think the Vikings play with emotion (I know Harrison Smith certainly does), and they have good leadership. Even though Jared Allen and Kevin Williams are gone, we still have Greenway and Robison, who may need to step up a bit. But the Vikings could use someone to pump them up when they are behind but also when they are ahead. There were quite a few games last year that we lost by a few points because we gave up the lead, or we didn't push enough to overcome the few times we were down by only a touchdown or couple of field goals.
I am not worried about his lack of size. That can be helped, if Smith is willing to put in the work. He would be a true weakside linebacker, which we could use. If Zimmer implements the same defensive scheme with the Vikings that he did with the Bengals, and there's no guarantee he will, Greenway is no Vontaze Burfict; he just doesn't have the raw power. But Greenway has already been playing the strongside, and he's been doing great at it since he was drafted in 2006. With Smith at the weakside, and either someone new in the middle or Audie Cole, we would be another step ahead on building a great defense. If we grabbed C.J. Mosley in the first, preferably with a trade down, then Telvin Smith in the fourth if he's available, we would be looking golden. I know we drafted Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti last year, but I'm all for two linebackers in this draft, and maybe a bit higher this time. We all know how Jasper Brinkley Round 2 is going to turn out.
| from: miamiherald.typepad.com |
Recent news in the NFL Draft sphere is all about the prospects that failed drug tests at the combine. Telvin Smith is one of them. However, his draft stock isn't expected to fall very far because of it. If anything, this may be good for the Vikings. They may be able to nab him in the fifth. Granted, I would want to make sure he isn't doing any illegal substances now or if they draft him.
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