Braden Smith, OL, Auburn: 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Auburn’s Braden Smith was one of the best offensive linemen in college football, but can he squeak into the early rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft?

Braden Smith, a 2014 four-star recruit, started 41 of 53 career games for Auburn. He was named a starter for the Outback Bowl as a freshman and started each of Auburn’s next 41 games. He primarily lines up at right guard in the Tigers offense. He’s played for one head coach and four offensive coordinators during his college career.

Per CFB Film Room, Smith allowed just one sack and four hurries on 387 pass blocking snaps through the SEC Championship Game in 2017. As a senior, Smith committed just one penalty, a false start against Arkansas. He was named second-team all-SEC as a junior by SEC coaches and first-team all-SEC as a senior. This season Smith was also the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, awarded annually to the best offensive lineman in a conference. He possesses very good size and length on a protracted frame with outstanding athletic ability.

Age During Rookie Season: 22 (March 25, 1996)

Measurables

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 303 lbs.

Games Watched

2017: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia (regular season), LSU, Texas A&M

Strengths

As a run blocker, Braden Smith comes off the ball quickly and smoothly. He maintains good posture with a straight back and his arms and knees bent with his head up at impact. He demonstrates very good play strength by getting his hands under his opponent’s pads and fuels blocks with a strong lower body.

Smith excels as an angle blocker, and the Tigers would often pound the ball behind their right guard with zone running plays. He also is a skilled blocker on the move. He displays very good play speed when pulling as he’s able to stay in front of the play and locate a defender out in space. The same is true when he reaches the second level of the defense between the tackles. As seen in the play below, Smith climbs to the second level quickly and locates his defender. On this play, it happens to be Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans. With a solid punch, Smith can get Evans off balance and turned away from the play. This opens a running lane up the middle and all Smith must do from there is stay between the linebacker and the running back.

In the passing game, Smith displays solid awareness of where his quarterback is both in and out of the pocket as a result of good mental processing skills. He exhibits solid patience as he allows the defender to come to him as Smith remains loose and flexible on his toes. He possesses very good strength to latch onto defenders and prevents rushers from pressuring the quarterback.

Both as a pass and run blocker, Smith displays good competitive toughness as he plays through the whistle and finishes blocks aggressively. The below play from the Texas A&M contest is an example of this. He begins by assisting the center with a block inside. Once he sees the center has everything under control, he sprints to his right and pancakes the edge rusher who’s being blocked by the right tackle. Despite the defender having no chance to reach the QB, Smith displays a mean streak that offensive line coaches will love.

Weaknesses

Braden Smith does a marginal job of initiating contact with his hands in the running game, instead lunging at defenders and contacting with his body before placing his hands inside the opponent’s pads. While he will shut down defenders at the point of attack, Smith does an adequate job of driving defenders off the line of scrimmage. When he reaches the second level of the defense between the tackles, he displays adequate awareness and struggles to make his way through traffic.

As a pass blocker, Smith is slow to setup off the snap. He’ll allow defenders to initiate contact due to marginal hand speed and leaves his chest open. When matched up against a skilled defender, like Christian Wilkins of Clemson in the following play, this becomes a major issue. Here, Wilkins uses one arm to get into Smith and gain leverage. From there, Wilkins has complete control and dips under the right guard to get to the quarterback.

While the 300-pound defensive tackle isn’t the most flexible player when it comes to bending the edge, he’s still able to get to the quarterback. This angle shows provides a better view as to how Wilkins gets around Smith. If Smith does make the move to tackle at the next level, this will be one area he must improve upon as edge rushers in the NFL are much better at bending around the edge.

Against blitzes and stunts, Smith displays marginal mental processing skills. He appears unsure of who to block and will allow linebackers to sprint through gaps untouched on their way to the quarterback. LSU took advantage of this in 2017 on multiple occasions. This play in particular resulted in the quarterback taking a big hit.

Overall

Overall, Braden Smith is a future starter at right tackle at the next level who wins with athletic ability and competitive toughness. He’s not someone who possesses the hand speed to protect the quarterback in the passing game against stronger defenders. Every season a number of offensive tackle prospects are projected to move inside to guard at the next level. Smith is rare in that his skill set demonstrated as a college guard projects better to tackle in the NFL. This will certainly enhance his draft stock.

Next: Andrew Brown, DL, Virginia: 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Report

At this time, Smith is more reliable in the run game, however moving to tackle would alleviate some of the concerns when it comes to his pass blocking. When interior defenders initiate contact into his chest and drive him back because he’s slow to setup, Smith struggles to recover. However, when he’s on the outside he has shown an ability to gather himself quickly and demonstrates the foot speed to force defenders well outside.

He may not begin his career on the outside, but once developed, Smith looks the part of a starting right tackle in a zone blocking scheme.