De’Veon Smith has a lot of buzz as an undrafted rookie… but is it more than just hype and hope.
Undrafted rookies accounted for 22 roster spots in the 2016 Patriots lineup
The Miami Dolphins are starting their OTA’s this week, and even though there is no contact or pads, at least we will finally get to see our team on the field in action.
The Dolphins signed 14 undrafted rookies after the draft, and even though each of these players is a long shot to even make the 53 man roster, the Dolphins have recently kept a couple of undrafted rookies each of the last few seasons.
Of the 14 undrafted rookies, there are two in particular that I will be keeping a close eye on during OTA’s and minicamp to see if they have what it takes to earn themselves a roster spot. Those two players are (the Smith boys) Michigan running back De’Veon Smith and Georgia safety Maurice Smith.
De’Veon played for one of the top programs in the nation for the last 4 years. However, last year was his best season where he ran for 846 yards, 10 touchdowns, a 4.7 yards per carrying average, 16 receptions for 66 yards, and earned All-Big Ten honorable mention.
He’s a larger sized Running Back at 223 pounds and a north-south runner that has the ability to break tackles. His biggest weakness is that he lacks speed, and sometimes this means he can’t create his own holes to run through.
Miami has their workhorse in Jay Ajayi, and Kenyan Drake will get some snaps this season because he has shown that he has explosive home run threat that Ajayi lacks. In addition, Miami also has Williams who carved out a nice niche for himself in the Redzone.
Undrafted players are cheap and don’t cost picks, so it’s a win-win when they make it
However, Miami kept four running backs on the roster last year, and if Smith can be a bruiser at the NFL level, then Adam Gase may be able to find a specific use for him.
Maurice Smith started his college career at Alabama in his first three years with them, he played in 24 games. But in his senior year, he decided to transfer to Georgia, so he could get more playing time. Most pay per head review sites will agree that this move worked out well for him because he started 12 games and was able to be very productive with 50 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.
Considering that the Dolphins secondary was decimated by injuries by the end of last season, Miami might stock up on depth. Maurice definitely has a lot of big game-time experience under his belt, to help make his transition to the NFL a bit smoother than most Rookie secondary players. So depending on how he performs in OTA’s and minicamp, and if he can contribute on Special Teams, he might be able to steal a roster spot.
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans’ and pay per head review sites’ thoughts about the Smith boys possibly making the team or anyone else you guys think has a shot to make the team?
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