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Today we use our 2013 NFL Draft prospect profile to focus on a player who is well-known and liked in the scouting community, and a guy who has a visit upcoming with the New York Giants. Quanterus Smith of Western Kentucky is an intriguing defensive end prospect. While Florida State's Tank Carradine gets all of the publicity, Smith has a similar story. He was dominating his competition in the Sun Belt Conference (Osi Umenyiora and Demarcus Ware both played at Sun Belt Conference schools) with 12.5 sacks through 10 games before he tore his ACL and missed the remainder of the season. He hasn't participated, and won't participate, in any of the pre-draft process activities.
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Pros
The only thing Smith has done in the pre-draft process is get measured at the combine, where he measured in at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds with 33.25-inch arms and 10 3/8-inch hands. Smith has good length and explodes off the snap. He uses his arms well and has active hands. He has become a refined pass rusher who knows how to set ups his moves and has the flexibility to consistently beat men with his pad level. Smith has a good motor and plays with good instincts.
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Cons
For a 4-3 defensive end Smith doesn't have the greatest size or strength. He has always been a player who rushes the passer better than he plays the run. His initial hand punch is a bit lacking, and his biggest asset is his explosion of the snap, which will be in question after he tore his ACL this year. He had 12.5 sacks this year and some of it against his best competition (three against Alabama), but they definitely came in bunches -- three against Alabama, five against Florida International, 3.5 against Arkansas State and then one against Florida Atlantic for all of his sacks. Is consistency an issue?
Player comparison: Mark Anderson (NFL.com) , John Abraham (CBSsports)
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Does He Fit With The Giants?
Yes. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mark Anderson -- he has an Osi-type game. He's a good pass rusher who has always been a bit of a liability in run support, but Osi has been consistently more productive where Anderson has had two peaks (seasons of 11 sacks and 10 sacks), but many valleys (most seasons had around three sacks).
Prospect Video
This video is from @aaronaloysius of draftbreakdown.com It is a good video to show because it's against Alabama and their NFL-caliber offensive line.Smith collects three sacks in this game. The second game is from the same user and is against Florida International, where he gets five sacks
Big Board Rankings
CBS Sports-309th
Mocking the Draft-120nd
Sports Illustrated-outside top 40
Big Blue View Board-99th
Final Thought
It is hard to figure out where he'll be drafted. He checked out well (reportedly) and seems like he should be able to recover. He's a talented pass rusher who has enough size to be a right defensive end in a 4-3 or a stand up pass rusher in a 3-4. Though he might not be a dominant run stuffer he should be a guy who can be had in the mid rounds who offers up 10-sack potential. Add that to the fact that the Giants are visiting with him and it seems very likely that he's on their radar -- the Giants usually don't visit with their actual first-round targets, but have drafted a number of players they have had in for visits in the middle to late rounds.
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