Preston Smith ‘Feeling Like Lockdown Corner’

Through three games, no edge defender in the NFL has dropped into coverage more frequently than Smith.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In his prime with the New York Jets, Darrelle Revis was the sole occupant of “Revis Island.” When a college star at Louisville, Jaire Alexander was the president of “Alexander Island.”

Outside linebacker Preston Smith gets paid by the Green Bay Packers to sack the quarterback but is enjoying his frequent role in coverage this season.

“I like covering,” he said on Friday. “I like feeling like I’m a lockdown corner. I joke around in camp or in practice when I’m covering somebody and they don’t throw the ball that direction, I tell them ‘Welcome to the island.’ Even when they throw the ball that direction, it’s either catch and tackle or it’s an incomplete pass because my island is under max security.”

Through three games, no edge defender in the NFL has dropped into coverage more frequently than Smith. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s played 38 coverage snaps. That’s 11 more than any other edge defender. For his playful boasting, he has not been an island. But he hasn’t been an overcrowded city, either. By PFF’s judgement, he’s allowed 5-of-7 passing for 45 yards. His 1.18 yards allowed per coverage snap ranks 11th out of 17 edge defenders with at least a dozen coverage snaps.

Smith is no stranger to playing coverage in his five-plus NFL seasons. Last year, his first with the Packers, he played a career-high 133 coverage snaps. In his final three seasons with Washington, he averaged 57.

To be sure, it’s not his forte. At 265 pounds, the matchup isn’t exactly in his favor against a running back like New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara last week or Atlanta’s Todd Gurley on Monday. But he’s acquitted himself nicely, which has allowed defensive coordinator Mike Pettine to keep offenses off-guard by sending different rushers while still having six or seven players in coverage. Of his five completions, only one (a 14-yarder by Detroit’s D’Andre Swift) was longer than 8 yards.

“That’s a credit to him,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said. “Not many guys can do what he can do, just from the knowledge part and in coverage, because we do ask him to do a lot in coverage and different drops, and credit to him how well he can do it. It allows us to do a lot of things on defense. You’re going to have a mismatch, especially with 41 [Kamara]. Anybody that’s going to cover down on that guy or have him in space, you’re going to have issues. He’s a team player, and it’s a credit to him because there’s not a lot of guys who can do what he can do at all.”

Last season, Smith (third) and Kyler Fackrell (10th) ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in coverage snaps by edge defenders. With Fackrell joining the Giants in free agency, there’s been a lot of coverage snaps to absorb. That’s not the forte of Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary, so it’s been up to Preston Smith to pick up the slack – though perhaps Oren Burks’ expanded role will mitigate some of that and allow him to get back to what he does best: sack the quarterback.

“I joke with those guys. They say ‘DBU’ I tell them I’m ‘OLDBU,’” Preston Smith, who has just a half-sack in three games, said. “As far as going out there and executing my assignment and communicating with those guys, I try to tell them I’m just an oversized lockdown corner.”