Washington Redskins: 5 Roster Bubble Candidates Who Must Make the Team
By Craig Stofko
Fish Smithson
The last defensive player on the list is a defensive back. There is a lot going on in Washington’s secondary right now but it would be foolish to think that any of the young guns are ready to replace Fish Smithson. I have repeatedly noted that I believe Smithson is one of the most underrated players on the entire team. His career at Kansas was stellar and in limited action as a professional, he has demonstrated outstanding potential.
Smithson has been criticized for his lack of speed since he ran a 4.55 40 yard dash at his pro day. Lest we forget, not every player runs his fastest time at the most opportune moment. Smithson ran a 4.47 a week earlier. Though he’ll never be a “burner” his speed is more than adequate. Fish has also been derided because of his size. Many articles point out that standing 5’11 and weighing 196 is too small to play Safety. Really? Since when?
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I’ve not read anywhere that the Redskins fourth round draft pick, Troy Apke, is too small to play – all 6’0 200 pounds of him. Yes, Apke ran a 4.35 and had a 41 inch vertical. Admittedly, those numbers make your pupils dilate. But, Smithson posted a 37 inch vertical. That is not the superhuman lift demonstrated by Apke but still quite respectable.
So, I’m not buying that he’s too small, or too slow, or too anything to be a very good back up for the Redskins defense. Not after he led the nation in tackles in 2015 while at Kansas and was voted first-team All-Big 12 in 2016. He also had eight interceptions as a freshman albeit at a smaller school. However, he added six more during his last two years at Kansas.
His coaches at Kansas said of their team captain that in Smithson they felt as though they had another coach on the field. And NFL scouts referenced his amazing play recognition and were emphatic when talking about how smart he was and how he was always in the right place to make the play.
In 2016 Smithson had a stretch of six consecutive games of ten or more tackles. No one else in the country was able to match that. And few were able to match his 93 tackles, four interceptions, seven pass break ups, two forced fumbles and a sack that year. But again, it’s really his ability to impress at the NFL level that makes him so valuable to the Redskins defense.
His sample size as a pro prohibits conjecture about his potential to start as a professional but there are no other players on Washington’s roster that could more adequately serve as one of the Skins backup safeties.
Despite his critics, I expect him to do what he did last year and make it impossible for the coaches to ignore him. Right now it is difficult for me to imagine the other safeties on this Redskin team outshining him in training camp. If he doesn’t make the team it would be a mistake and the defense would miss him.