Silver Minings: Christopher Smith II pick receives ‘A’ from Bleacher Report

It was a bit of a surprise that former Georiga safety Christopher Smith II was still available in the fifth round of the draft, making him a steal for the Las Vegas Raiders with the 170th pick overall. In fact, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave the Raiders an ‘A’ for adding the former Bulldog.

Below is Sobleski’s explanation:

170. Las Vegas Raiders (via New York Jets)

Christopher Smith II, S, Georgia

Strengths: Good recognition and quick trigger, always at full tilt, takes good angles, smooth backpedal

Weaknesses: Poor athleticism, lacks top-end speed, smallish frame doesn’t allow him to play through ball-carriers

The film of a prospect sometimes needs to speak for itself. The curious case of Christopher Smith II is an example of seeing the player in an entirely different light from the athlete.

Smith started two years for the back-to-back national champions. During that stretch, he accumulated 96 total tackles, 15 pass breakups, six interceptions and five tackles for loss.

The unanimous All-American throws his body all over the field, excels as a downhill run defender and consistently shows up in both phases of the game. However, his predraft testing couldn’t have gone worse. The 5’11”, 192-pound safety posted a terrible relative athletic score with his 4.62-second 40-yard dash, 33-inch vertical, 9’8” broad jump, 4.41-second short shuttle and 7.45-second three-cone drill.

Smith’s film says he should be an early-round pick. His testing is that of an undrafted prospect. These two extremes need to be reconciled.

Purely from a value perspective, Smith’s selection with the 170th overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders may be the best of the entire class. Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department had the former Bulldog as the second-best safety and the 35th overall prospect. His testing metrics aren’t great, but Smith plays at a high level.

Grade: A

Sobleski graded all of the Raiders’ Day 3 picks and handed out the following marks:

• Jakorian Bennett, CB, Maryland: B
• Aidan O’Connell, QB, Purdue: C+
• Amari Burney, LB, Florida: B
• Nesta Jade Silvera, DL, Arizona State: C

In other Raiders links:

• UDFA tracker: keep tabs on who the Raiders are signing after the draft.
• Draft recap: find every pick and what role each new player is expected to play as a rookie all in one place.
• Insights on Raiders’ draft strategy: “Still need more proof that the Las Vegas Raiders’ definition of best player available differs from the “consensus” BPA? Because if the selection of Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson didn’t definitively show that, then I don’t know what to do for you,” via the Raider Ramble.
• Chandler Jones restructures contract: the move created about $5.1 million in extra cap space according to ESPN’s Field Yates.