2022 NFL Draft: Scouting report on Seahawks fifth-round pick Tyreke Smith

With the 158th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft the Seattle Seahawks selected defensive end Tyreke Smith out of Ohio State. Seattle already selected an edge defender early on Day 2 in Boye Mafe ,which shows the organization realizes just how important multiple edge rushers were added to strengthen what was a relatively light group prior to Thursday.

Prospect: Tyreke Smith

Games watched: 2021 Penn State, Michigan, Oregon, Tulsa

Measurables: 6 foot 3 - 254 pounds

Strengths

• Smith’s best attribute is his hand usage as he consistently goes for swipe, swim and rip moves to generate pressure. His hands are relatively quick, and he is able to swipe blockers hands once they flash them.
• Smith has good bend on the edge as he is able to dip below and get around bigger defensive linemen.
• Tyreke’s Relative Athletic Score was nothing special overall as he graded out as a 7.15. On the plus side his short area agility, where he posted a shuttle time of 4.24 seconds, grades as a 9.17 and his 7.06 seconds 3-cone time grades as an 8.71.
• Smith short area agility shows on film as he has a very quick feet off of the line of scrimmage paired with good overall speed. He has great pursuit showing a willingness to chase players 20 plus yards down the field as he has the ability to keep up with them and not lose any speed as he gets further from the line of scrimmage.
• He has a good tempo to his pass rushing moves as before making contact he incorporates jab steps and movement with his upper body and hips to try and get blockers to cheat one way or the other.
• Smith is versatile as he can line up in a two- and three-point stance and play on both the left and right side of the line.
• Smith did not get a significant number of snaps in coverage but when he did, he looked more than comfortable. He kept his eyes in on the quarterback and stayed light on his toes when in zone coverage while dropping to a good depth.

Weaknesses

• Smith lacks true play strength and ability to get into his lower half. He plays with a high pad level and is unable to gain leverage on blockers as a result. His hands are not very heavy as he does not set defenders back at the point of contact. He did not flash any type of bull rush as blockers were easily able to anchor down against him.
• Smith struggles on pass rushing plays when blockers make the first contact with him. He does not have any type of developed counter move and he struggles to disengage in the passing game which results in him being stood up in these situations.
• Smith does not make much of an impact in the running game as he shuffles down too much when containing the edge and does not have good backfield vision. He gets wiped away too easily by double team blocks which causes large gaps to open up on his side. Ohio State did not use him with much regularity in obvious running situations nor did he get used near the goal line.
• He did suffer two concussions as a child from playing football which is something that is a bit concerning.

Scheme fit

Smith is a perfectly fine schematic fit in Clint Hurtt’s defense. Despite Hurtt saying defensive linemen will not be dropping back nearly as much this season, Smith showed enough in coverage to make him a good 3-4 defensive edge/OLB. Having him stand up in a two-point stance rather than being in a three-point stance does allow for him to utilize his first step a bit more as well.

Overall thoughts

Smith is another perfectly fine selection for Seattle. He does not possess a particularly high ceiling as a player due to his lack of an impact in the running game and overall lack of play strength. That said, due to his intelligence as a pass rusher and ability to utilize his above average hands in the passing game he can walk in and be a third down pass rushing specialist on day one while playing a role on special teams thanks to his motor.