On the Draft Board: Maason Smith would be a high-upside pick later in the draft

Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen went to see Smith at the LSU pro day.

The Kansas City Chiefs sent defensive line coach Joe Cullen to meet and work with a pair of defensive tackle prospects at the LSU pro day: Mekhi Wingo and Maason Smith. Our own Caleb James wrote about Wingo last week.

In this post, we’re going to cover Smith, a polarizing prospect with a ton of talent but didn’t have the college career many expected.

Here’s what you need to know about Smith:

Background

Coming out of high school, Smith was one of the biggest recruits in the country. Smith was a five-star recruit, the best prospect from Louisiana, and the 31st recruit nationally. Smith had offers from almost every major school in the country but ended up staying in-state and enrolling at LSU.

Smith made an instant impact, making the All-SEC freshman team. He played 354 snaps as a true freshman, posting four sacks and 16 pressures, which are terrific numbers for a true freshman. Unfortunately, that momentum didn’t carry into his second year. In the 2022 season opener vs. Florida State, Smith got hurt celebrating a play, which required knee surgery and ended his entire sophomore season.

Smith rebounded this past season, playing 12 of 14 games. However, his stats were underwhelming. In 584 snaps, he only recorded 23 pressures, three sacks and two quarterback hits. Smith did have an ankle injury at the beginning of the year and was suspended for a game for NIL violations before the new laws were enacted.

Smith did every drill except the broad jump and bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine. He measured in at 6’5 1/8” (93rd percentile) and 306 lbs. (54th percentile) with an arm length of 35” (94th percentile) and a wingspan of 84 5/8” (95th percentile). In the 40-yard dash, Smith put up a respectable 5.01 time (70th percentile) and 1.75 10-yard split (49th percentile). In the vertical jump, Smith leaped 31” (71st percentile). Smith also did both agility tests, posting a 7.62 second time in the 3-cone drill (56th percentile) and 4.69 short shuttle (43rd percentile).

Film Review

The first thing that stands out about Smith is his frame. Smith is 306 lbs.

, but he carries that weight incredibly well. He’s well built across his body, carrying almost no additional weight or fat needed. His length also stands out for defensive tackles, with long arms and a huge wingspan that engulfs blockers. When I first watched Smith, based on his length and frame, I guessed that he weighed at least 325 lbs.

That size and length are the foundations of his game. Smith succeeds the most with his length and strength. As a run defender, Smith is almost impossible to move at his best. No guard has any chance of ever getting into his chest. He’s able to utilize that length to throw blockers around and win a leverage battle. His strength shows up in how powerful his hands are. When Smith gets his hands into you, he can create serious torque and knockback. Even at just over 300 lbs., he profiles as someone who can play nose tackle with his functional strength and length.

As a pass rusher, everything about Smith’s game is how he plays through a guard. At least in his 2023 film, he was an incredibly stiff mover. He doesn’t have a lot of bend or flexibility in his game, so being able to win with speed on either shoulder is unlikely. However, where Smith does win as a pass rusher is with his power. Even if he doesn’t get a great first step, his length and strength allow him to win late into reps. Smith does have pad-level issues with his bullrush, but when it clicks, and he gets a low center of gravity, good luck keeping him out of the quarterback’s lap.

His overall pass-rush plan is generally limited. He mainly wants to crush the pocket with his length and uses a swim move to change up against guards who are bound to lean on him to set their anchor. Besides that, he lacks the agility to have a full pass-rush arsenal, but his strength and size suggest he has a real pass-rush upside from a nose tackle, which isn’t common.

How he fits with the Chiefs

What makes Smith intriguing is that he can play both nose tackle and 3-technique. I feel he’s better as a nose tackle since his lack of agility limits his upside as a pass rusher. I like quicker, more agile players to be my 3-technique, and Smith isn’t that. But I think he could play nose tackle in the NFL. Even at just 300 lbs, his strength and length make him incredibly difficult to move. Very few NFL centers and guards will be able to reach him and move him around.

As a pass rusher, Smith would give the Chiefs a nose tackle with pass-rush skills, which they haven’t had since Dontari Poe left. Even if there are concerns about his agility, he would need to crush some pockets, especially next to Chris Jones. Jones can win in any way necessary, so just having a pocket crusher who can reduce space would help this defense.

The bottom line

I don’t think Smith will ever meet his recruiting profile. At one point, Smith was considered a guy who could be a first-round pick, potentially even in the top 15. He had challenging circumstances in his college career, but I don’t see that talent on film. His stiffness and lack of ability to win with speed are enough for me not to consider him that level of prospect.

That being said, there is a ton of talent in his game. Even with those issues, you rarely see players with his level of length, strength, and body composition. There is a reason he was a prestigious recruit. Even though his 2023 tape was largely not great, there are still plenty of flashes that show why scouts and analysts get excited about Smith.

Let’s make one thing clear: this would be an upside pick. If he goes around the late third round or early Day 3, you don’t see many prospects in this range with that amount of talent. If the Chiefs draft him, it’ll be because Cullen got to know Smith well enough that he’s confident he can get the most out of him. Even if that’s not top-15 level play, there’s enough upside to get excited about Smith if the Chiefs draft him.

Grade: Round 4