The weakest position on the Las Vegas Raiders‘ defense after the draft is defensive tackle. It was a huge need heading into the draft, but the team didn’t address the position until they selected Brandon Cleveland in the seventh round.
Cleveland won’t be the lone rookie in the defensive tackle room. UCLA announced that the Raiders have signed undrafted rookie free agent Gary Smith III.
Smith is massive at 319 pounds. He actually played closer to 340 in college, but lost some weight. He has dealt with injury issues in his college career and missed all of the 2024 season with an injury.
The Raiders are running a 3-4 base defense, and Smith has the right body type to be a nose tackle in that system. The team is really young at defensive tackle, so Smith will have a real chance to earn a roster spot.
Scouting Report on Smith
Smith is a run stuffer. He’s a big player who eats up space. In his college career, he had 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He’s older for a rookie at 24, but he also has a lot of experience.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein doesn’t think Smith has any pass rush upside, but his potential in run defense could earn him a roster spot.
“Smith is a squatty, space-eating nose tackle with a wide, powerful base,” Zierlein wrote. “He can be reached/sealed by centers on move blocks but is more than capable of using his natural leverage to grow deep roots and occupy blocks against downhill schemes. He offers no rush help but it won’t matter for teams looking to fortify their interior against the run. Smith has a chance of finding a roster home as a late draft pick or undrafted free agent signee.”
Raiders Must Be High on Young DTs
The Raiders’ decision not to address the defensive tackle need that heavily in free agency or the draft could be a show of confidence in who is currently on the roster. Last year, the team drafted both JJ Pegues and Tonka Hemingway. Neither player got that many opportunities to see the field last season, but both have some potential.
Hemingway, specifically, showed a lot of promise. In just nine games, he had 4.0 sacks. That would’ve been a solid number for a defensive tackle who played the whole season. If Hemingway is a real player, that’s great news for the Raiders.
Pegues didn’t make as many plays. His body type makes him a better candidate to be a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. Similar to Smith, he’s not going to have much pass rush upside, but he can clog the lane. The Raiders are betting on youth, which could be a winning strategy.
The team knows they aren’t going to win the Super Bowl this season, so they aren’t going to work too hard to fill every need with proven veterans. If Hemingway and/or Pegues are impact players, then the Raiders will look a lot smarter for not using an earlier draft pick on a defensive tackle.
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