Previous Production
When Smith entered the league, the NFL had hardly seen anyone like him before. Smith was drafted seventh overall in the famed 2011 draft class that saw Dallas draft left tackle Tyron Smith at No. 9 and the Texans take J.J. Watt at No. 11. Cam Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson and Julio Jones were five of the six that went before him; and he was as great as that entire group to begin his career.
With 42 sacks in three seasons, only two other players in league history had accomplished that feat, and Smith did so missing five contests in 2013.
They weren’t empty sacks, either. Smith didn’t miss a single tackle in 596 snaps as a rookie. Pro Football Focus credits him with 231 combined QB pressures over those first 43 games. He led the league in pass-rush productivity in 2011, was fifth in 2012 and third in 2013.
The man knows how to find the quarterback. The question is, whether he still has the same wheels and bend around the edge after such a long layoff.
Reuniting with Jim Tomsula
If he does, he certainly has the right coach to uncover and rediscover those traits. Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, Smith’s position coach along the defensive line was Tomsula, well revered as one of the best position coaches in the entire sport. Tomsula was there for Smith’s entire tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, and played a big role in developing the Washington Redskins’ stout defensive front over the last three seasons.
Risk of being suspended again
Smith is not clear of the league. The NFL has revised the substance abuse policy, basically saying that anyone who hasn’t been suspended for long periods of time can operate with impunity moving forward. That doesn’t apply for people like Smith, and Randy Gregory, who have served bans that lasted a year or longer.
Right now there is a gray area on what happens if the Smith tests positive for a substance. The marijuana testing policy has been revised, the threshold for weed in the system greatly increased. Smith hasn’t only dealt with marijuana suspensions, though and because he’s in the suspension protocol, it’s unclear what would happen were he to run afoul of the system again moving forward.
[vertical-gallery id=646270][lawrence-newsletter]A