2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kentucky DE Za’Darius Smith

ZA’DARIUS SMITH- 6’4.5, 270- SR.

Thanks to the presence of 2014 First Team All-SEC defensive end Bud Dupree, Za’Darius Smith wasn’t even the best pass rusher on his own team. However, the Kentucky Wildcats defensive end is still a very intriguing NFL Draft prospect and could be a great value for a team that has other needs to address in the first round.

Smith is still rather raw and has things that he needs to work on, namely his torso movement while rushing the passer and his discipline in keeping contain on the outside. He is a great athlete, though, and unlike many of the top pass rushers in this year’s draft class, Smith has the size and strength to fit as a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme. His greatest skill is the one that many NFL talent evaluators regard as the most valuable one for pro pass rushers: an exceptionally quick jump off the line of scrimmage. As long as he can accept coaching, the more minor issues such as precise body positioning and proper run defending skills can be addressed at the next level.

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Unfortunately for Smith, this isn’t the best year for him to be in the draft. Whereas he certainly would have been a first-round candidate in 2014, where there was a significant absence of reliable pass-rushing candidates and questionable talents such as Louisville’s Marcus Smith went in the first round, the 2015 class is much stronger in terms of pass-rushing talent.

Smith probably ended his college season as a likely third-day pick, though he’s making a major impression on the pre-draft circuit thus far, dominating the East-West Shrine Game and receiving an invitation to the Senior Bowl, ironically to replace Dupree, who dropped out. If he can continue to impress through the rest of the Senior Bowl week and at the combine, Smith can establish himself as a possible second or third-round pick.

POSITIVES: great size, prototypical 4-3 defensive end…strong burst off the line of scrimmage…very versatile, can effectively contribute from both the left and right sides and also showed the ability to be a successful interior rusher during 2014…good closing speed…effective hand usage…almost certainly has not hit his ceiling yet; has only been playing D1 football for two seasons and only started playing the sport in his senior year of high school, as he played basketball exclusively before then.

NEGATIVES: needs to develop his pass rushing technique, does a poor job of lowering his hips as he rounds the edge and often fails to complete the job once he’s gotten past blockers…biggest issue is finishing the play once he is in the backfield, needs to show better discipline…though he comes out low from his stance, he tends to come up too high once he is engaged with a blocker…could get exposed as a run defender, often too eager to pursue the quarterback and will cheat inside, leaving the outside open and vulnerable…started his career in junior college, which can be attributed to his lack of football experience in high school, but were there academic issues that went along with that?

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2014 Outlook: Smith combined with Dupree to create one of the most formidable pass-rushing duos in the country during 2014. Over 12 games, he had 61 tackles, which ranked him third on the team, including 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. He also contributed four quarterback hits, two pass breakups, and two passes defended.

After being overshadowed by Dupree at Kentucky, Smith was able to showcase his skills on a bigger stage at the East-West Shrine Game, and he took full advantage. Smith showed great burst off the line of scrimmage all day while recording two tackles and a sack on the way to winning the game’s Defensive MVP award.

Talent Grade: Mid-to-Late Second Round

Rams Role: Smith would be a near-perfect fit in the Rams’ defense. Though he measured in at roughly an inch-and-a-half shorter than his listed college height of 6-foot-6, he has the length that Jeff Fisher and defensive line coach Mike Waufle seem to desire in their defensive ends.

It also helps that Smith has shown the ability to contribute as a rusher from the interior, which is basically a requirement for Rams reserve defensive ends. William Hayes and Eugene Sims didn’t rush from the inside as much in 2014 as in prior years due to the presence of rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald, an elite pass-rusher in his own right, and an injury to starter Chris Long which pushed Hayes and Sims into action on the outside. With that said, Waufle has utilized ends on the inside for a long time, perhaps most prominently with his New York Giants lines of the late 2000s, on which Justin Tuck made some of his greatest contributions from the interior.

The Rams may be in the market for a defensive end this offseason, as it’s possible that Hayes, who turns 30 in May, could be a cap casualty heading into the final year of his contract in which he’s scheduled to make just over $3 million. Ethan Westbrooks, an undrafted rookie who impressed during training camp in 2014, could be a candidate to take over that role, though his status in the organization is somewhat unclear, as he never really seemed to make an impact after punching a San Francisco 49ers player in Week 6 and receiving both a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a hand injury as a result.

Though Smith has the talent to be a second-day pick in most draft classes, there are plenty of talented edge rushers in this year’s class. Many of those players are much better fits as 3-4 outside linebackers, so Smith’s value as a 4-3 defensive end may still allow him to be taken in the second or third round, but it’s possible that due to his relative lack of college productivity, he could fall a bit more, which would definitely put him within reach for the Rams.

Film Watched: vs. Missouri (2014), vs. Louisville (2014), vs. Miami of Ohio (2013), vs. Louisville (2013)

Next: What Should the Rams be Watching Out for at the Senior Bowl?

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