NFL Draft: Michigan DT Mazi Smith goes to Dallas in the 1st round

Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith didn’t need to wait long to hear his name called at the 2023 NFL Draft. The All-Big Ten nose tackle went to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round, No. 26 overall.

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“He is a powerful kid,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said of Smith. “People say, well, he didn’t have production, sack production — 2.5 tackles for loss, half a sack, he forced a fumble — but he had 48 tackles. If you turn him loose and coach him up, he’s got the talent to be a good player. At the very least, he’s going to be an anchor against the run. He’s going to be able to solidify the interior. With powerful hands, we’ve got to believe he can expand his game and be more of a factor getting into the backfield.”

“I’ve never seen anybody move a mountain, and you won’t move him, either,” Booger McFarland added. “This is a mountain of a man inside. For a team that wants to get to third down … how do you get to third down? You’ve got to stop the run on first and second down to allow Micah Parsons, to allow DeMarcus Lawrence to have the ability to rush the passer.

“He has pass-rush ability; it just won’t look clean. He can push the pocket. Now you have Lawrence and Parsons coming off the edge. The numbers won’t show up, but he will help their pass rush by pushing the pocket.”

Most had Smith projected for the late first or second round after a career in which he appeared in 35 games with 28 starts. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection (first team; 2022, honorable mention; 2021) and notched 48 tackles (2.5 for loss) and half a sack last season despite being frequently double teamed.

Smith made a huge move in 2021 and lived up to his teammates’ billing as “the guy to watch.” He was putting up crazy numbers in the weight room and improved his speed and strength each year, already one of the strongest guys on the team.

Though he opted out of most events at the NFL Draft Combine while rehabbing a hamstring injury, Smith bench pressed and tied for second among all combine participants with 34 reps of 225 pounds. He did some work at Michigan’s pro day, as well, recording a 29 1/2-inch vertical jump and 8-foot, 11-inch broad jump.

Still, ESPN’s Louis Riddick wasn’t convinced it was a good pick.

“I’ll tell you this, Dan Quinn is going to have to get him going, though,” he said. “He’s going to have to get him playing consistently coming off the ball. For me, I saw him too late off the ball, not getting off blocks one on one, too much one-on-one at the point of attack, where you’re sitting there like, ‘Look, man, you’re 6-3, you’re 323 pounds, you’re 34 reps [on the bench press at the NFL Combine]. You should be rag-dolling people and you’re not.’

“I guess that’s why you slid down to this area in the first [round], but he has tremendous physical tools.”

Many teams interviewed Smith about his gun arrest last year. He faced a felony gun charge for carrying a loaded weapon without a permit, but later pled down to a misdemeanor. That clearly didn’t affect his draft standing, at least in the Cowboys’ eyes.

“It comes up,” Smith said. “[Teams] are about to invest a lot of money. They’ve got to know the ins and outs of what you’ve got going on.”

Meanwhile, the Draft Network’s Damian Parson called Smith one of the better run defenders in the class.

“Smith has a two-down appeal right now as an NFL prospect,” he wrote. “His value as a run defender is high. If defenses continue to run the two-high safety sets next season, he will be valued well.

“He does not offer high-end passing-down value. There is some ability to impact quarterbacks with interior pressure but he will need to play quicker and more refined technically.”

From The Athletic’s Dane Brugler:

“A two-year starter at Michigan, Smith was the linchpin of the defensive line at nose tackle in coordinator Jesse Minter’s scheme, playing up and down the line. Although his backfield production is underwhelming, he is a better pass rusher than his career sacks (0.5) would indicate (finished second on the team with 25 pressures in 2022). Ranked No. 1 on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, Smith plays with extraordinary power to welcome double teams or dismantle single blockers with his patient eyes and torqued hands.

“His football instincts are well developed to feel blocking pressures and track the football. However, he needs to be a more controlled finisher as a tackler. Smith might never light up the stat sheet with backfield production, but he will be an above-average NFL run defender and flashes pass rush potential with his natural leverage, body quickness and remarkable power. He fits multiple fronts, but he is ideally suited as a shade in the middle of the line, similar in ways to a bigger Brandon Mebane.”

Smith will get a chance to show how far he’s come in all areas next year with the Cowboys.