Scouting Report: USC Offensive Tackle Tyron Smith
By Eric Haigh
When talking about certain draft prospects that have moved up and down draft boards the past couple of months, USC offensive tackle Tyron Smith should certainly be no exception to the discussion. A prospect that many analysts had in their top two as far as offensive tackles after the NFL season ended, some had some questions about him after he suddenly dropped out of the scouting combine in late February after only participating in the bench press. Many believed it had to do with a arthroscopic procedure done on one of his knees shortly before the combine that caused the knee to swell up. However, on March 30, he helped himself with good workouts at his pro day. He ran a 4.96 forty time along with 31 reps in the bench press. According to the National Football Post, he excelled in his positional drills as well. He is a full scouting report on Smith including his strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
Getting Into the Second Level (Run Blocking)
Smith is one of the best prospects at this skill. He does an excellent job of taking care of his assignment off the snap of the ball, driving the defensive linemen backward when run blocking. An aspect that many young offensive linemen struggle with, Smith excels in picking up the linebackers or secondary defenders at the next level and allowing his running back to pick up extra yardage in the open field. You will not see many other offensive linemen prospects block to the second level like Smith does.
Quickness Versus Speed Rushers
For a 307 lbs. offensive tackle, Smith definitely is impressive versus lighter and quicker rushers off of the edge. He has good balance and isn’t fooled by a rusher who makes a hard push outside and tries to catch him leaning and take the inside path to the quarterback. While he can at times get beat by moves because he doesn’t use his hands properly, he does a good job of keeping his arms extended and his shoulders square toward the defender.
Strength Versus the Bull Rush
Smith was excellent versus pass rushers who tried to bull rush and push him back into the pocket in college, when he weighed around 280 lbs. Since the end of the 2010 season, he has put on about 28 pounds or so to handle the strength he will undoubtedly see in the NFL. He bends his knees well and is able to stand up defensive ends and linebackers who try to collapse the pocket. This is something that is very important for an offensive tackle, especially with the number of 3-4 defensive schemes in the league now that consist of elite pass rushers who are outstanding at getting leverage.
Weaknesses
Struggles Versus Strong Blitz Packages
This is the weakness that causes the most problems for Smith when pass blocking. He does not have the best awareness when it comes to playing the offensive tackle position, and many believe it is due to his lack of awareness and experience. On the game film I watched, he seemed to be confused by certain blitz packages that were strong on his side. He would not pick up the inside blitzer because of outside pressure and would cause his quarterback to have to flee the pocket to avoid a sack.
Quickness Off of the Snap
Smith needs to have more burst off the snap of the ball when he gets to the NFL level, both in the pass blocking and run blocking aspects of his game. On his game film I saw him get beat off the snap multiple times and while he was able to recover somewhat, he loses the leverage he should have with a good start. With a quicker start, Smith would also be able to improve his vision when picking up the blitz packages thrown his way.
Versatility
This is more of a question mark than it is a weakness. Many analysts have wondered if Smith has the ability to play any left tackle in the NFL after playing right tackle for full two seasons at USC (he was a backup for the 2008 season and appeared on special teams). While this may not be as big of an issue for teams who have him high purely for his play at right tackle, some teams who place emphasis on versatile offensive linemen may have questions.
Projected Round: Mid-1st
NFL Comparison: Jeff Otah, Carolina Panthers