The Lions dipped deep into the depth pool to sign defensive tackle Chris Smith as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Smith wasn’t even a starter at Notre Dame in his final season after transferring from Harvard.
A quick perusal of his Fighting Irish game film demonstrates what the Lions saw in Smith. The Detroit-area native (Cranbrook Kingswood HS) is an active presence on the interior. Smith is quick off the snap and keeps his feet clean and chopping through the initial engagement with the blocker. In the one Notre Dame game I attended (Stanford), Smith used his initial quickness and ability to shed blocks well; he had an impressive TFL and forced a fumble.
His best quality is his ability to finish under control and with power. Notre Dame didn’t log him for a single missed tackle, and in his three seasons at Harvard the Crimson had Smith for just one missed tackle. He wraps well and uses his reach to corral ball carriers and occasionally the opposing QB (5.5 sacks in 42 career college games).
For a 301-pounder (listed weight), Smith isn’t much of an interior anchor. He plays more in the gaps, aligning as a shaded nose, and his goal seems to be to get free to make plays instead of gumming up the works. At Harvard, Smith moved around the interior more and was tasked with being the attack tackle, which he did quite well in 2021.
When he doesn’t get free, Smith doesn’t have the base strength to hold up against good blockers. He also doesn’t offer much creativity as a pass rusher other than the occasional swim move. His bull rush was sometimes effective against interior OL with poor pad level.
He strikes me as a bigger, less twitchy version of one of Detroit’s UDFAs from a year ago, Demetrius Taylor. Smith will need to either be more productive on the interior or improve his anchoring and base strength if he’s to make it for the full year with the Lions’ practice squad.
