Browns Digest

Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Profile: Tyreke Smith, EDGE Ohio State

Cleveland Browns fans always want more Ohio State Buckeyes on the team. Could pass-rusher Tyreke Smith be an option in the 2022 NFL Draft?

Sam Penix

If the Cleveland Browns are going to double or triple up on pass-rushers in the 2022 NFL Draft, Ohio State's Tyreke Smith could be worth a look on Day 3.

Smith played four seasons for the Buckeyes, starting 17 of his 30 career games. He totaled 55 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. That is lackluster production to be sure, but it can at least partially be explained the defensive line talent that he shared the field with, and was playing behind.

Smith's best trait is his bend, which is evident on film and in his athletic testing. He has the ankle flexibility and balance to run the arc and stay on his feet even playing fast, and that is a requirement for being a top pass-rusher. He also possesses moderate explosiveness and decent speed.

Tyreke Smith Relative Athletic Score
Tyreke Smith Relative Athletic Score

At 6-3 254 pounds, Smith is definitely on the smaller side for an NFL defensive end, and it's unlikely he'll ever become an every-down player because of a lack of strength as a rusher. It's certainly possible to overcome being undersized, but it requires either elite traits elsewhere or exceptional skill, and Smith has neither right now.

His bend is great, but as good as it is, one might have expected him to be a more impactful rusher than he actually was in college. His hand usage leaves much to be desired and it's a big reason why isn't able to shed blocks very effectively. Even when he's using his bend well, his tape is filmed with reps where he should have been able to free himself from the offensive tackle's grasp, but was unable to.

There are some players who can get away with this in college and still rack up pressures, but Smith is not one of them. He needs to add moves to his repetoire and improve at disengaging from blocks so that his bend can be put to better use.

As a run defender, Smith shows a better anchor than one might expect from a player his size, and he held up well against the 6-8 384-pound Daniel Faalele in Ohio State's 2021 matchup with Minnesota.

Smith's average draft position on Pro Football Focus's mock draft simulator is 129.9, and he is 136th on PFF's draft board. NFL Mock Draft Database has Smith as the consensus 148th-ranked player and 20th-ranked EDGE. If the Browns picks stay as they are now, the team would probably need to take Smith at 4.118 if they wanted him, as it seems unlikely Smith falls to 6.202. But if Cleveland moves around some and lands a fifth-rounder, Smith could make some sense as long as the team has already addressed the position with a superior prospect.

Tyreke Smith is a far cry from the elite pass-rushers that Ohio State has been churning out for the past decade, but he should be able to stick around in the NFL for a while and could earn himself a nice designated pass rusher role if he can work on his hand usage and disengaging.

The Browns won't be taking him simply to earn brownie points with the fanbase, but at some point on Day 3, Smith could make some sense for Cleveland.

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Sam Penix
SAM PENIX

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