For the cross-section of us who are Steelers fans as well as Penn State fans, this won’t be anything new to you. For you #H2P folks, put on a cup of coffee and hear me out.
Smith is a long, rangey LB with explosion (36″ vertical jump out of high school🤯), a violent finish, and versatility to play the MIKE, SAM or WILL in Penn State’s 4-3 front.
Brandon didn’t play in Penn State’s Outback Bowl berth, but he came to the NFL Combine and tested off the charts. Like, literally the best LB ever tested:
Those long arms (34.625″🤯🤯) allow Smith to keep blockers away from his body where he can control them. Combine that with his impressive vert: he’s a problem in the passing lanes for shorter QB’s like Baker and Russ, and can get a hand in there in coverage at the catch-point (-1 yards allowed on five targets vs. Rutgers in 2021).
Sounds almost too good to be true, and should be alluring to NFL teams looking for a guy who can wear multiple hats over the middle. But Smith projected as a third-round draft pick. Where’s the disconnect?
The bottom line: the NFL sees this kid as a project with a high ceiling. Technical concerns with tackling (17.2% missed tackle rate in 2021, per PFF) and coverage (tight hips when he needs to turn and run) chip away at Smith’s “Week One” value at the next level. He was a true, 21-year-old junior in 2021, so that youth leaves plenty of room to grow.
The Mineral, Virginia-native recorded 14 forced fumbles in high school…in his final two seasons alone(🤯🤯🤯). I’m sure he understands your Derrick Henry’s and Najee Harris’s aren’t gonna go rag doll and cough up the rock like those 180-pound, track star RB’s he used to blow up in high school. A good LB’s coach – a Brian Flores-type, if you will – will get Brandon to be a stickier tackler and not throw that shoulder as much.
The same can be said for Smith’s coverage technique. A coverage-forward defensive scheme (the Steelers’ defensive coordinator was their secondary coach last year) will coach him up there. In my opinion, he’d thrive as an off-ball linebacker in a 3-4 system (like the Steelers play) in which he doesn’t have to be “the guy” in the middle. He has a tendency to play Madden zones and cover “grass instead of manipulated to windows” (credit to Crabbs at the Draft Network for the borrowed phrasing). Playing alongside a veteran MLB (like Myles Jack, just to grasp at a name) will help clean up his use of space.
Brandon’s elite length and athleticism are all the raw tools you can ask for at the ILB position. Whichever team takes a flyer on him is going to get a very good player.
CamBlackburnWrites 