Originally Posted by :
Henry Louis "Trey" Smith III has gone through much adversity since high school but continues to battle. His mother, Dorsetta, passed away from congestive heart failure when he was at the University School at Jackson in Tennessee. While there, he excelled on the gridiron, winning the Mr. Football Award twice and garnering a first-team All-American and top-10 overall recruit rating nationally. The Volunteers kept him in-state, and he received second-team All-SEC, Freshman All-American, and SEC All-Freshman recognition as a 12-game starter (eight at right guard, four at left tackle). After the season, however, he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs. Smith fought through that malady to return for the 2018 campaign but had to stop after seven starts at left tackle as doctors believed the clots had returned. However, additional study of those test results showed that doctors might have actually seen scar tissue from the previous clots. Smith worked hard in the offseason, losing 40 pounds, and he garnered 2019 first-team All-SEC honors after moving inside to left guard, where he started 12 of 13 games played. He was a first-team all-conference selection again in 2020, starting all 11 games at left guard for the Volunteers. He received the Jason Witten Award for leadership on the field and community service off the field, as well as the Fritz Pollard Trophy for extraordinary courage and community values. He accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. -- by Chad Reuter
Overview
When putting together a guard built for an NFL power-based scheme, the blueprint would probably look like Smith. He's big, wide, strong, long and will flash an aggressive streak when he gets geared up. The lack of body control and technique he put on tape suggests it may be difficult for him to overcome his limited athleticism. An offseason of fundamentals work should help Smith become more efficient into first contact, which will really unlock his power at the point of attack. He's been one of the more talked about guard prospects over the last few years but might be in for a bumpy beginning as he adjusts to the athletes and technicians he will face as a pro. Strengths
Elite size and length for the position.
Frame is broad and thick.
Very heavy-handed with plus upper-body strength.
Able to throw a sack of bricks at opponent when he punches.
Has physical potential to become dominant with better technique.
Drive power to turn base blocks out of the gap.
Can bang and cave his down-blocks.
Knock-back pop on both first and second levels.
Good job of finding targets on his short pulls.
Sets a very firm anchor against bull rushers.
Has faced off against a variety of current pro defenders during career.
Weaknesses
Lack of range shows up in run game and pass sets.
Long first step, causing him to overshoot his landmark and lose positioning.
Needs better footwork and hand clinch for improved sustain.
Will cheat secure block to save time getting up to linebacker on combos.
Plays with hitch and outside hands with pass punch.
Below-average body control and recovery potential.
Loses balance and positioning against rush counters.
Struggles to redirect weight after biting on fakes in pass pro.
Slide quickness to cut off the gaps is a concern.
Has dealt with blood clotting issues.
Sources Tell Us
"I guess you don't like big, aggressive guards, Lance? I know he has things to work on, but they can be coached up. The (history of blood clots) is a much bigger issue than anything on tape for me." -- Personnel executive for NFC team
I’m so happy for @TreySmith73 going to the @chiefs. Finally. Chiefs Kingdom got an awesome player and fantastic human!!
Originally Posted by Coach:
You must be new here, so, first thing first:
Welcome aboard. Second thing,
Good post, I like it. I can see that it can go both ways. I think the bigger culprits of likely getting cut first before LDT would be Rankin and Wylie. Wylie was bad, and never really impressed me that much. So I see those two guys getting kicked to the curb first before messing with LDT.
Of course, like you said, if LDT skills has declined because of the opt-out year, I can see that scenario happening as well. But the risk the Chiefs run is that if they lose LDT and keep Wylie, and Long gets injured again.... yeah.
I just feel like Wylie is the worst option to keep on the roster, one way or another.
Originally Posted by Mecca:
So there's a rumor floating that the Chiefs are the only team that medically cleared Smith. Carolina and NE had interest as far back as round 3 and their medical staffs said no go.
Eh, each medical staff is going to be different.
If one says he's OK and another says he's not, well, that's normal. Plenty of times we seen a player released because that team's medical team says 'no go', and when doing a physical check up with a new team, he passes it. So I don't really read that too much. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
So there's a rumor floating that the Chiefs are the only team that medically cleared Smith. Carolina and NE had interest as far back as round 3 and their medical staffs said no go.
Once upon a time, the Chiefs drafted a DL in the 6th who was the son of the Raiders GM and tried to convert him to the OL because his legs looked like tree trunks.
I have to imagine drafting this guy based on inconclusive medicals is still a higher expected value proposition. [Reply]
I expect to see Veach doing some player trading in August. If we can get Ward for Ehinger, and the Texans could get a starting running back from us for Rankin, and we can give up a pick for Cam Erving, then I'm pretty sure that Veach can get something for a couple of our extra linemen. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
So there's a rumor floating that the Chiefs are the only team that medically cleared Smith. Carolina and NE had interest as far back as round 3 and their medical staffs said no go.
They asked him and he said he hasn’t had any health issues since 2018. I would assume that Tennessee has been keeping a close eye on it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
So there's a rumor floating that the Chiefs are the only team that medically cleared Smith. Carolina and NE had interest as far back as round 3 and their medical staffs said no go.
Count me thrilled all these teams fraidy cat doctors said no bueno
You will absolutely miss every shot you don't take
Originally Posted by Mecca:
So there's a rumor floating that the Chiefs are the only team that medically cleared Smith. Carolina and NE had interest as far back as round 3 and their medical staffs said no go.
Yet a mobile QB with epilepsy went #11 overall.
I think teams look for more reasons not to draft a guy than reasoning for drafting a guy. [Reply]
He's played the last 2 years without any medical issues. I guess teams think that his career could end at any time with the blood clots. Or his could play a full career with no issue. It's worth the risk of a 6th round pick.
Our biggest issues now are RT and DE right?
Will Niang takeover the RT position? Who's going to start at DE opposite of Clark? [Reply]
Originally Posted by JakeF:
He's played the last 2 years without any medical issues. I guess teams think that his career could end at any time with the blood clots. Or his could play a full career with no issue. It's worth the risk of a 6th round pick.
Our biggest issues now are RT and DE right?
Will Niang takeover the RT position? Who's going to start at DE opposite of Clark?
RT isn’t a huge need. They have Niang and Remmers....plus Long if we need him. [Reply]