Arrowhead Pride
The Southern Arkansas product has found his way to Kansas City’s offseason roster.
Following the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs signed more than a dozen undrafted free agents (UDFAs) to fill out their 90-man offseason roster. Now, we’re considering the chances they have to still be on the team when the season begins in September.
In this post, we’re profiling Division II star Melvin Smith Jr. — a 5-foot-10, 185-pound cornerback from Southern Arkansas. Why were the Chiefs interested in him? Let’s take a look.
When watching Division II and Senior Bowl film, it can be hard to prognosticate too much about a player’s skill set. However, there were some things that you can translate to any level.
First, it’s clear Smith has enough speed to hang. Smith ran great in the predraft process, which shows up on film. He is well-equipped to defend go routes downfield. He’s good at the line of scrimmage, never biting too hard at fakes and staying in-phase under control. Smith knows he can trust his speed and stay with fast receivers.
On top of this, the ball skills are strong. Smith looked strong and physical at the catchpoint in the clips I watched, but candidly, the wide receivers he defended were largely small. I’d be interested to see how he matches big, physical “X” receivers. Regardless, I think he tracks the ball well downfield.
Smith loves to bait cornerbacks in zone coverage. He loves trap coverages, where he can break on something late and either get an interception or blow up a pass with a hard tackle. Smith has some vicious hits on film. He’s extremely explosive headed downhill and has good instincts to time his pursuit.
I can’t find any data on where Smith lined up, but he does move around multiple positions on film. I personally see him as an outside cornerback. Despite being slightly undersized, I think his skill set and strength will hold up on the outside just fine.
Even if he’s just an outside cornerback, I think Smith has multiple skill sets that indicate a high level of trust. You have to be extremely intelligent to play safety, slot and outside cornerback, and he did that on film.
One reason he’s able to do this is that he’s a great tackler and run defender. He will insert into the A-gap and tackle a running back. He has no issues tackling in space. His body type does look like a safety, even if he also has the skills of an outside cornerback.
It’s not hard to see why the Chiefs liked Smith. He’s fast, can physically cover on the sideline, and is great tackling against the run. Those are all traits they like from...
