One coach I spoke to said that Smith was his number one quarters coverage corner in the draft. I’ve rated him very highly all season long and with his ability to play across the formation in a number of schemes; man, off man, zone, in the slot and potentially at safety, he’s a strong possibility at 25.
I mentioned him in round 1 because he’s such a schematic fit for Miami but Oregon’s Jairus Byrd would be a terrific pick here, as would Sean Smith if he fell. His stock seems to be falling in the last few days leading up to the draft. Could he make it to 44?
To that end, my colleague Omar Kelly continued to report what London Calling had been reporting with regards the Dolphin interest in Utah junior corner Sean Smith. But Omar took it a step further with a great scoop, saying that Miami had met with Smith at least three times. This is a player who I tagged at the start of the season as a potential first rounder and who was the second best pure cover guy I saw all year. Smith, who figures to come off the board in that 20-35 area would answer an important need and his upside, as well as his ability to play the slot has to be of keen interest to the front office.
Yesterday they were in attendance at the Utah event. High on the agenda were cornerback Sean Smith and DE/OLB Paul Kruger. Smith was one of the Dolphins 60 interviews in Indianapolis and he grades out as 1a in my list of corners I watched this season and he improved his strong Combine showing (6034, 214, easily the longest arms of any corner, a 4.53 forty and just 10 reps on the bench) with a mid 4.4 forty yesterday. Secondary coach Todd Bowles then took Smith and worked him out individually. I’m waiting to confirm a rumour that Bowles and Smith had breakfast together before the workout.
Best Player I Saw: Sean Smith- Utah - Junior.
I was an advocate of his play all season long and talking him up as a first rounder, even to the point where people were saying they’d never heard of him! On the national stage I thought he was somewhat disappointing in the Sugar Bowl, but I really like his ability in man and zone; he’s big enough and strong enough to knock receivers from their routes at the LOS. He mirrors very well in the initial steps and can turn and run. I'd like to see more consistent fluidity in the hips and stronger tackling, but he transitions very well and has very long arms. He and DJ Moore of Vanderbilt are 1 and 1a.
In the secondary is where the fun starts. Three legitimate first rounders at cornerback including the two best cover men I graded in all of 2008, Utah’s Sean Smith and Vanderbilt’s DJ Moore. Smith is a converted wideout who was one of the few corners all season who played press. He flips his hips very well for a big man, possesses long arms to redirect at the line as well as use them to knock balls away and isn’t afraid to come up in run support.
Moore plays with terrific technique, has a very smooth back pedal and will sink his hips and drive on the ball with remarkable pace. He transitions like Dominique Rodgers Cromartie and attacks the ball in the air. What Moore brings to the table that Smith perhaps doesn’t is versatility; he can return kicks and punts and played receiver as well for the Commodores. He’s also very impressive in run support and will quickly break off his man and deliver a blow. I’ve talked about it before but Bill Parcells and by association Jeff Ireland have steered well clear of cornerbacks in round one; only Terry Kinard when Bill was with the Giants, Ty Law with the Patriots and Terrence Newman in Dallas have been selected in the first stanza by Parcells’ teams. Smith, with his size and potential to double up at free safety might remind them a little of Jason Allen who is surely on his last legs as a Dolphin. But Moore’s versatility and impressive ability as a man to man cover guy who can really support the run will have them thinking, especially if he’s on the board at 25. It’s a deep draft for cornerbacks, something of a position of need, but as Coach Sparano said at seasons end, you can never have enough corners.
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