Seahawks 90-Man Roster Rundown: Tyreke Smith

In the midst of a position switch, Smith looks to put his oft-injured collegiate career in the past and earn meaningful snaps in the Seahawks pass-rush rotation.

With the calendar flipping to July and offseason programs wrapped up across the country, NFL training camps will begin around the NFL in less than a month's time. To celebrate the new incoming season, the All Seahawks staff will be breaking down the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2022 campaign.

Tyreke Smith, EDGE

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 265 pounds

2021 Stats*: 26 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble

*College stats at Ohio State

Ohio State has churned out plenty of NFL prospects over the years, and the Seahawks dipped their toes into the Buckeye talent pool in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft selecting EDGE Tyreke Smith. As a traditional 4-3 defensive end at Ohio State, Smith only recorded 11.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks over his four seasons. However, those stats don’t paint the entire picture of Smith’s effectiveness as he also recorded 36 quarterback pressures in 2021 alone per Pro Football Focus. Smith didn’t test particularly well at the combine with a 4.86-second 40-yard dash and a 34-inch vertical, but he does show an extremely high motor on the field which contributed to those pressure stats. He also missed several games in college with various injuries which reduced Smith’s ability to rack up stats.

Best Case Scenario: Shaking off the injury bug, Smith adapts well to his new role at EDGE and makes enough splash plays during preseason to earn a limited role in the rush packages during the regular season. He finishes with 2.0 sacks and has a role on special teams.

Worst Case Scenario: The transition to EDGE proves to be a work-in-progress for Smith, exacerbated by him missing reps during training camp and preseason games with nagging injuries. Smith makes the 53-man roster but is inactive for the first 12 games before finally seeing limited reps as the season closes out.

What to Expect in 2022: After playing 4-3 defensive end all four years at Ohio State, Smith may take time to feel comfortable in his new role at EDGE. He’s already missed some time in the offseason program with an injury which was a consistent problem for him in college. Smith will be competing with fellow rookie Boye Mafe and Alton Robinson for the primary backup reps in the pass rush rotation behind starters Darrell Taylor and Uchenna Nwosu. If healthy, Smith’s motor will be a boon and his size should be a positive setting the edge as a run defender. He will likely be asked to play special teams as well. Smith isn’t being counted on to be a huge contributor at the start, but he could surprise as a rotational rusher and have similar production to Robinson or the recently departed Rasheem Green. 

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Profiles

Kevin Kassis | Cade Brewer | Liam Ryan | Deontez Alexander | Elijah Jones | Josh Turner | Scott Nelson | Joshua Onujiogu | Jarrod Hewitt | Darwin Thompson | Matt Gotel | Lakiem Williams | Tanner Muse | Greg Eiland | Aaron Fuller | Shamarious Gilmore | Cade Johnson | Dakoda Shepley | Deontai Williams | Bubba Bolden | Josh Johnson | Vi Jones | Dareke Young | Myles Adams | Jacob Eason | Tyler Mabry | Jon Rhattigan | Penny Hart | Josh Jones | John Reid | Mike Jackson | Tyler Ott