Tyreke Smith, EDGE, Ohio State
Joey Bosa. Nick Bosa. Chase Young. The “who’s who” of pass rushers to come out of Ohio State in the past few seasons is impressive. One could make the case that over the past five seasons, Ohio State has become EDGEU.
Tyreke Smith hopes to add his name to that venerable roster at the end of this season. During his time in Columbus, the pass rusher has notched just three sacks, all of which came last season operating across from Young. But if you are hoping that he makes such a leap this year, there is a lot to build a case upon based on his film. Kyle Crabbs, who covers the draft year-round for The Draft Network, has this to say about the pass rusher:
In clear possession of all of the needed physical traits to be an NFL defender and perform at a high level. There’s needed polish to put onto his game but as a complimentary pass rusher with the Buckeyes last season, he flashed plenty of speed to power ability, length and a fair level of versatility. He was used against Clemson as a spy defender with frequency, dropping off the LOS and looking to mirror the quarterback. He’s at his best with his hands established on the frame of blockers, where he’ll be able to collapse them with power and soften his angles in pursuit. Could be a feasible candidate to play in either odd or even fronts.
It is hard to see, however, Smith cracking the first round without a season in 2020. If the Big Ten decides to push the season to the spring, Smith might face a very difficult decision.