Seattle Seahawks Draft Profile: Brandon Smith

With the 2022 NFL Draft set to kick off in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 28, the Seahawks can have an opportunity to kickstart a brand new period for the franchise with eight picks, together with a top-10 choose and 4 picks whole within the first three rounds.

Over the subsequent month main as much as draft weekend, the AllSeahawks writing employees will dish out in-depth profiles on quite a few prospects who may very well be targets on Seattle’s huge board.

Subsequent up within the collection is Penn State’s Brandon Smith—one of many high testing linebackers at this 12 months’s mix, who possesses a skillset that ought to land him on the Seahawks’ radar.

Background

A two-year starter for the Nittany Lions, Smith enters the draft after a superb junior season by which he recorded 81 mixed tackles—9.0 for a loss—and a pair of.0 sacks. That, alongside together with his 5 cross deflections and one pressured fumble, earned him third-team All-Large Ten honors. On the mix, the 21-year outdated’s 40-yard sprint time of 4.52 seconds ranked within the 91st percentile amongst linebackers, whereas his 128-inch broad soar and 38-inch vertical soar ranked within the 94th and 86th percentiles, respectively. 

Strengths

Smith’s near-elite athleticism does, certainly, present up on tape. He is a fluid mover on the turf and will get sideline-to-sideline in a rush. Nevertheless it would not simply assist him monitor down incoming ball-carriers; in protection, he makes use of his palms nicely and is greater than able to going step-for-step with tight ends, working backs and even some receivers. 

Deployed in quite a lot of methods, Smith is at his greatest in house. That is the place he can let his pace shine essentially the most, whether or not it is blitzing at a large angle or sitting in his zone. He has good situational consciousness and response time to smell out the ball and restrict injury to a minimal.

Smith has the size and physicality essential to win matchups towards opposing blockers. He is one of many extra well-built linebackers on this 12 months’s class, measuring in at 6-foot-3^1/2, 250 kilos with 34^5/8-inch arms and 10^1/4-inch palms.

Weaknesses

Bodily talking, Smith is a dream come true at linebacker. However from a technical standpoint, he lacks consistency with a number of the fundamentals, which has pushed his inventory down towards late day two/early day three standing. 

Particularly, whereas he performs with a “bat out of hell” perspective, he can get a bit overzealous at occasions and flat-out whiffs on sort out makes an attempt. He’ll must grow to be extra sound in that division, specializing in his potential to wrap-up relatively than “hit stick” at any time when he approaches a ball-carrier. Though that may create for some enjoyable, violent highlights, it will possibly additionally result in some terrible misses that may get him chewed out on the subsequent degree.

Although he has the instruments to succeed, Smith struggles to correctly use them on the line of scrimmage. Too typically on tape was he swallowed by a block/moved off his spot when he should not have been. He can get a bit awkward in his setup and tends to place his physique in disadvantageous conditions, which brings up some considerations about him doubtlessly hurting himself. Nevertheless it’s not like he is wholly incapable of successful in such situations; he simply has to develop a extra repeatable method that is conducive to working his manner by means of blocks and staying clear within the course of.

Slot in Seattle

Fortunately, Smith’s largest warts must be fixable; and the Seahawks have an skilled linebackers coach in John Glenn who ought to have the ability to get the Penn State product heading in the right direction. Proper now, he is an enormous ball of clay for a workforce to mould—and an thrilling one at that.

Whereas he could not get an opportunity to crack Seattle’s beginning lineup proper out of the gate, maybe a while in a rotational or pure reserve function would do him wonders in engaged on his approach. So by 2023, if Cody Barton both would not pan out or winds up heading elsewhere, Smith might workforce up with Jordyn Brooks to kind one of many quickest linebacker duos within the NFL. And even with Barton round, Smith has the flexibility to play all three spots and will get some work in at SAM. 

Within the meantime, Smith’s burst and aggressiveness can be a superb addition to an already robust particular groups unit.

Earlier Seahawks NFL Draft Profiles

Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina | Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa | Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State | Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU | Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati | Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA | Cameron Thomas, EDGE, San Diego State | Trevor Penning, T, Northern Iowa | Hassan Haskins, RB, Michigan | Abraham Lucas, T, Washington State | Troy Andersen, LB, Montana State | Boye Mafe, EDGE, Minnesota | Kingsley Enagbare, DE, South Carolina | Cade Otton, TE, Washington | Rasheed Walker, T, Penn State