Cam Smith 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scouting report for the South Carolina CB

Clemson v South Carolina

Cam Smith, South Carolina

Cam Smith: 6’1”, 185 pounds; RS JR

A four-star recruit in 2019, Cam Smith barely saw the field as a true freshman, before logging two interceptions and PBUs each the following season in eight games. In his first full season as a starter in 2021, intercepted three passes and broke up another 11, along with 2.5 TFLs and a forced fumble. This past year, Cam Smith only defended six passes (one pick), but was still regarded as one of the top corners in the SEC, where he made second-team all-conference as a junior.

Positives

+ Picked up right where Jaycee Horn left off for the Gamecocks in 2021, as Cam Smith picked off three passes, broke up 11 more and finished with an 89.7 coverage grade

+ Last year, those numbers dipped a little bit. However, Cam Smith still only allowed 47.4% of throws his way to be completed and was responsible for a passer rating of 71.3, whilst spending almost exactly a third of snaps in a tough slot role

+ Plays a lot of soft press for the Gamecocks, where Cam Smith's fluidity and balance is highly impressive for a lanky corner, but then he also provides that length and physicality to deny receiving easy access to the edges of his frame

+ Fans regularly see him force the X into the boundary, with no space to fit the ball into him or just to make them kind of quit on their route

+ Even if Cam Smith misses the jam, he is loose enough to cross over with that inside leg and not really get out of phase

+ Plus, then he can stop his momentum exceptionally well against curls and comebacks with efficient footwork

+ Against guys releasing inside, Cam Smith typically makes sure to attach to the near-shoulder of the receiver and feels the break coming, to stick in the hip-pocket

+ Fans see Cam Smith back-pedal 10 yards and not look uncomfortable doing so, unlike many other tall corners

+ When sinking in cover-three, Smith’s eyes are on the slot receiver and he’s ready to fall off for inside fades/seam routes

+ As a flat defender, his length and ability on mid-point routes makes it very dangerous to hit deep outs and corner routes against him

+ With his ball-tracking skills, he can be leveraged outside in deep zone responsibility and still get back underneath the wideout on post routes, to catch the ball over his shoulder himself – Had a great pick that way against Clemson in 2021, working out of the slot

+ Shows the comfort when tangled up with receivers down the field to bring his head around and attack the ball in the air. While Cam Smith needs to play through the hands of the target, he can typically do so without prematurely interfering

+ Going back to the 2021 East Carolina game, he had an incredible play, arm-barring the receiver on a fade-route and getting a hand on the ball to the back-shoulder, the opponent nearly bringing it in off the rebound, only for Cam Smith to punch it out anyway

+ Across his two seasons as a starter with the Gamecocks, Smith has allowed just 33 of 70 targets for 395 yards and three TDs vs. four INTs

+ Tested better than expected at the combine, with a 4.43 in the 40, a 38-inch vert and an 11’2” broad jump (96th percentile)

+ Does a good job of maintaining vision on the ball-carrier as he’s engaged with blockers and sliding to the right side, to at least hold that guy up

+ Accelerates up into the flats and shoots through the legs of guys in the screen game for some splash plays

+ Smith shuffles his feet and shoots his hips through opponents to be a pretty effective space tackler one-on-one

+ Delivers knockback on ball-carriers who are already wrapped up, and Smith finishes off the play – He iterally jumps on top of piles at the end of plays

+ Was blitzed off the corner later in games, when opponents were trying to close out wins with the run game

Negatives

– Lacks the elite athletic traits (explosion, top gear) that you usually see from the very best at the position – he was just petrified by the speed of Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt and while shadowing him, he consistently played 10+ yards off on him

– His tendency of initiating contact with receivers further than five yards down the field when he doesn’t actually press will lead to a transition phase with NFL rules

– And overall, I think when guys are released against his leverage, he tends to tug their jersey for a moment, which rarely gets called

– While he’s been much more effective recently, he does have a 16.3% career missed tackle rate, too often relying on being able to sling or drag guys to the ground

– Dealt with several minor injuries that put him on the sidelines for stretches of games

I don’t believe Cam Smith is quite at the same level as an athlete as the top-three names on consensus boards. However, when you look at the last two years, arguably nobody has a better resume in coverage than him. South Carolina trusted him to lock up the opposing team’s number one receiver – similar to some of the other great corners they’ve had there – and he consistently got the job done. I think his future team will need to protect him a little more in terms of not leaving him isolated against true speedsters. However, if he can tone down his aggression a little bit in terms of grabbing cloth and wrapping up accordingly as a tackler, he can continue to frustrate opponents with his length, physicality, and competitive mindset.

Grade: Late first round

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