It would be an understatement to say that it has been tough sledding for Mazi Smith over his first two seasons. While the vast majority of Dallas Cowboys fans are rooting for Smith to turn it around, the NFL is an unforgiving business. He needs to create some momentum soon.
Smith has made the occasional wave in training camp, but the flashes have been nowhere near enough for a player who's seemingly in a make-or-break year.
That trend continued in the first week of preseason, where Smith didn't do much against the Rams' second-team defense. The former first-round pick was really hard on himself about his performance.
"I wasn't happy with at all, to be honest. I didn't do anything. I just need to keep learning the scheme and keep getting off the ball. I just didn’t do anything. You gotta do something. I’m a first-round pick. There are expectations and all that. This is my third year," Smith said.
Cowboys DT Mazi Smith is holding himself accountable, but he needs to perform
You have to appreciate that Smith is holding himself accountable. There are some professional athletes who lack the awareness to do that, so credit to him. At the same time, this is reaching broken record territory.
Smith's quote is a harsh reminder that defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus wants Smith to play both the 1- and 3-technique positions.
The Michigan product still struggles with the fundamentals of the 1-tech. It is hard to envision Smith turning a corner this season while he's trying to execute both roles at an adequate level.
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While 2024 was still a disappointment relative to his first-round billing, Smith at least showed improvement under Mike Zimmer as a traditional nose tackle. Tasking Smith with getting upfield will accentuate all the things he doesn't do well.
Now, is that an excuse for Smith being invisible against backups? Absolutely not. While he wasn't a liability, he didn't create much movement at the line of scrimmage and he was outplayed by Perrion Winfrey, who spent last season in the UFL.
Smith finished with a 54.3 PFF player grade and a 58.3 run-defense grade. Not terrible, but fans expect more from a former first-rounder.
At this point, Smith should be terrorizing the preseason. In a perfect world, he would have been in street clothes with the rest of the starters.
The accountability suggests Smith will work hard to get better, but again, Eberflus is attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole by asking Smith to play both interior positions. It sounds like Smith knows the system isn't catered to his strengths.
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