![\"Mazi](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2191128942-e1750983989790.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
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If you have been following the Dallas Cowboys even somewhat closely over the last year, you know their interior defensive line has been a sieve.<\/p>\n
That problem begins with the failure of underachieving defensive tackle and former first round pick Mazi Smith.<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report\u2019s Matt Holder took it a step further and called Smith the Cowboys\u2019 \u201cWorst First Round Pick\u201d in the last 5 years.<\/p>\n
Smith was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and signed a 4-year, $13.27 million rookie contract.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Offensive tackle) Tyler Guyton is threatening to take Smith\u2019s spot here after struggling as a rookie,\u201d Holder wrote on June 26. \u201cHowever, the latter has had more time to get his feet wet in the NFL and still looks like a fish out of water. The Michigan product was drafted to help stop the run but has earned run-defense grades in the 30s from Pro Football Focus in his two seasons.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Smith Could Be Shipped Out Via Trade<\/strong><\/p>\n Smith seems like a prime candidate to be moved in 2025, so don\u2019t be surprised to see his name pop up around the NFL trade deadline.<\/p>\n The key is to find a team in desperate need of an interior run defender and before his value in a trade dips more than it already has.<\/p>\n \u201cFormer first-rounder Mazi Smith endured a particularly tough 2024 campaign,\u201d PFF\u2019s Mason Cameron wrote on May 9. \u201cHe posted an abysmal 34.7 PFF overall grade, marking his second consecutive season of earning a sub-48.0 grade. Although Dallas signed Solomon Thomas in free agency, that doesn\u2019t profile as the answer to the Cowboys\u2019 30th-ranked run-defense grade (48.0).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Smith\u2019s PFF grade puts him among the worst defensive tackles in the NFL \u2014 207th out of 219 eligible players at his position.<\/p>\n Smith Put No. 1 on The Athletic\u2019s \u2018Freaks\u2019 List<\/strong><\/p>\n Smith had NFL teams salivating after The Athletic\u2019s Bruce Feldman put him at No. 1 on his annual college football \u201cFreaks\u201d list in 2022, saying the 6-foot-3, 337-pound University of Michigan star had a unique combination of power and agility \u201cso rare, in fact, it\u2019s hard to find the right superlative to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2022, Smith was named All-Big Ten Conference after leading the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff semifinals with 49 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.<\/p>\n NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared Smith to 2-time Pro Bowler Dontari Poe in his pre-draft evaluation. Zierlein also had Smith pegged as a player who some team would likely draft too early.<\/p>\n That actually happened.<\/p>\n \u201cSmith\u2019s size and testing could give his draft slotting some juice but he\u2019s more of a Day 2 talent with exciting upside than a plug-and-play starter,\u201d Zierlein wrote.<\/p>\n The Cowboys thought enough of Smith to make him the first defensive tackle they\u2019ve taken in the first round since they selected 3-time Super Bowl champion Russell Maryland with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1991 NFL draft.<\/p>\n Smith, who has 2 seasons left on a 4-year, $13.2 million contract, only had 13 tackles and 1.0 sack as a rookie in 17 games with 3 starts, then had 41 tackles, 1.0 sack and 4 TFL in 2024 as he started all 17 games.<\/p>\n In 2 seasons, Smith only has 3 QB hits, no forced fumbles and no fumble recoveries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you have been following the Dallas Cowboys even somewhat closely over the last year, you know their interior defensive line has been a sieve. That problem… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":64393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n