Donovan Smith (mini) film review; What can the Chiefs expect from the veteran OT?

Looking at a few games from 2022 and 2021 to try and figure out what the plan is moving forward for Kansas City's offensive line.

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Had you told me last week that the Chiefs would draft a potential right tackle of the future, I would not have been surprised. Had you told me that they were going to sign a veteran left tackle, and word would be that he was going to start there? That would have made me raise my eyebrows.

Well, consider my eyebrows raised, as the Chiefs signed former Buccaneer LT Donovan Smith to a one-year deal worth up to $9 million on Wednesday. It’s worth noting that, as of the time of me writing this piece, that the structure of the salary hasn’t been released. However, it’s safe to guess that at least half of that contract, perhaps more, is not guaranteed (considering where the Chiefs stand with salary cap space).

That leaves some question as to the plan Reid and company have for Smith. It’s being widely reported (by Tom Pelissero, Nate Taylor, Matt Verderame, and others) that the Chiefs see Smith as a starter and likely plan on starting him at left tackle. We won’t know for sure until the team starts lining up at OTA’s and for training camp, of course, but that’s the information available now.

So what is reasonable to expect from Smith? The 8-year veteran is coming off what is widely considered his worst year as a pro according to most, with serious penalty issues and a pretty angry Tampa Bay fanbase. Of course, it’s worth noting that Smith’s play in Tampa Bay previously led to him signing a lucrative deal following his rookie contract and earning a short (and still lucrative) extension thereafter (at least from the Bucs’ perspective).

There are a lot of opinions flying around about Smith, so I thought it would be most useful to check out a little bit of his film and see for myself. It’s worth noting that Smith played most of the 2022 season with a bad elbow (and, as we’ll talk about shortly, he’s a VERY upper-body-oriented blocker), and so I thought it may have some value to look at his 2021 film as well.

I looked at 2 games from each year, utilizing the usual methodology of charting wins/losses/neutral plays, as well as pressures/hits/sacks. That’s not enough to give a dispositive view on how he played in each season, but it at least gives us a general idea of his strengths, weaknesses, and whether he looked different in 2022 vs 2021. That, in turn, can at least give us some idea what to expect if Smith ends up starting in 2023 as is currently being reported.

Here are the numbers in the games I charted (KC and CAR in 2022, then DAL and CAR in 2021. I utilized CAR both seasons to see how Smith fared against Burns both times as a frame of reference). Again, keep in mind that in a sample size this small over 2 seasons, the numbers aren’t necessarily a great indicator of who he was all year either year. But it’s a place to start.

(note: “PB” stands for “pass blocking,” “RB” stands for “run blocking,” the W’s and L’s stand for wins and losses, and “N” stands for “neutral.” Then of course we’ve got pressures/hits/sacks at the end)

Without getting too deep in the weeds (again, keeping in mind that 4 games over 2 seasons is a small sample size), there were a few things that I noted that were at least somewhat interesting in the numbers.

The first is that, if I were to compare Smith’s work as a pass blocker to what Brown did in Kansas City in 2022, quite frankly I didn’t see much of a difference in terms of loss percentage (the much more important measure). Smith was actually a bit better in that department (though again, and I can’t say it enough, small sample size). One could take that as a positive sign; Smith, at a fraction of the price, showed on tape the last few years similar pass blocking percentages to Brown.

One thing he shared in common with Brown as well was that his losses, similar to Brown’s, were often pretty rough to watch and resulted in a pressure, hit, or sack (as opposed to more of a “slow death” loss typical of, say, Jawaan Taylor).

Smith is an interesting player to watch on film. Let’s go with a “good news, bad news” format, shall we?

On the plus side, Smith has great size and moves decently for a guy with that sort of size. He has terrific length and does show off solid upper body power. When he lands the first punch or is able to get his hands where he wants, he shows a great deal of strength and can stun or knock back pass rushers.

Smith’s game as a pass blocker is predicated on his length and upper body power. While he shows a variety of different techniques and will catch or trap pass rushers at times, his favorite sets involve waiting for the right moment and being the first to strike. And whether he’s taking a more aggressive set attacking the defender or laying back and waiting, he’s got the length and power in his hands to deliver a shot (even if his body is moving back or sideways).

In addition to having the power to jar or knock back opponents with his punch, Smith is also able to “freeze” defenders at times utilizing his long arms and strong grip, holding them in place and shutting down their rush. His length also gives him an advantage to ride defenders around the pocket even if his feet aren’t perfect and/or he loses the race to the spot.

Here, a terrific first step by Burns allows him to win to the spot before Smith can slide in front of him, and Smith is left chasing rather than sliding. But he’s still able to land a punch and lock on, directing Burns around the pocket. It’s not a perfect rep, but it’s an effective one that demonstrates the value of length and heavy hands that aren’t easily displaced.

Smith’s upper body strength is even significant enough that it allows him to recover when he starts to lose ground to a bull rush at times. He can manage to re-gain leverage just based on his top-end power alone and stop the rusher’s progress prior to getting into the quarterback’s lap. It’s one way he compensates for his weaker lower body (which we’ll get into shortly).

If one were looking to continue to talk about the “good” with Smith, it’s worth noting that (particularly in 2021) he moves decently for a guy with good size. While he’s not a change of direction player, his lateral movement to get depth isn’t bad, nor is his initial jump at the line. This allows him to take some aggressive sets as well as beat opponents to the spot with some frequency. And once he’s there, his upper body power and length help him keep rushers at bay when he’s got his feet right.

So, with all these positives, why does Smith have such a bad rap? Well, it’s not based on nothing. He did have legitimate struggles in 2022 particular but in previous years as well with being overly grabby and a player who picks up penalties (both holding and false starts) at far too frequent a pace. And it stems from the bottom up.

The biggest problem for Smith is that his feet are highly inconsistent, and that wasn’t just an issue in 2022. Far too often he lets his feet get out from underneath him, and it results in his balance being suspect at best way too frequently. This can show up in him losing in a myriad of ways, including not being able to change direction when quicker rushers give him even a half-decent fake in those moments his feet aren’t solidly set.

Here, you can see Smith almost instantly abandon his slide and start “chasing” Burns up the arc. This results in his hips being turned and his feet being all over the place, so when Burns makes a quick move inside Smith doesn’t have remotely the power (given his movement) to really even slow him down. The result is a very quick sack that lands squarely on Smith’s feet (see what I did there?).

For a larger player, Smith doesn’t have good lower body power, and that shows up in both the run and the pass game. He plays lighter than his listed weight, and not in a good way. I think a lot of that has to do with him being so overly reliant on his upper body traits that he’ll let his feet and hips do all sorts of things, but it’s also simply a consequence of not being powerful in his legs and, ahem, rear. And at the pro level, that’s going to result in even big, strong tackles being taken for a ride at times, something that happens to Smith much more often than you’d expect.

Smith’s balance leads to issues in dealing with both speed and power, but there’s a particular issue for him when he’s dealing with power guys who have good technique. If they’re able to avoid getting erased with his initial punch, they’re able to get inside his pads and get him on his heels more often than I care to see, as well as toss him aside once his balance is compromised.

Those issues were a bit less pronounced on tape in 2021 than they were in 2022, but I would say that was more because Smith’s fully-healthy upper body was able to compensate better. It wasn’t necessarily an issue of Smith showing better balance and/or feet that season. It’s just that the way he’s always won was more available, and so his usual compensation worked better than it did when he played with a bad arm. While that’s somewhat encouraging for his potential level of play while healthy, it’s still indicative of a player who is far too reliant on a few singular traits to win rather than being a well-rounded pass blocker.

Smith has another similarity to Brown in that when he loses, it looks BAD. As I mentioned above, he’s not really a “die a slow death” tackle when he collects a loss in pass protection. Rather, with his feet out from under him and lacking the lower body power to dig in, he’ll find himself diving to recover or getting tossed. The lowlights are genuinely tough to watch, and it’s actually pretty clear how he ended up with so many holding calls.

In terms of run blocking, Smith isn’t a player who moves the needle there in a particularly positive way. His lack of balance and “sand” in his lower body leads to him getting out of position too quickly at times, and he doesn’t get the drive you’d expect. He does show a decent knack for second-level blocks

To try and squeeze things back to a more positive note, Smith does generally (at least in the games I reviewed) do a relatively decent job with stunts and blitz protections. He was superior in ‘21, but part of that I’d assume was the chaos the Bucs had on the line in ‘22. And while he does have a number of concerns as a blocker in terms of his lower body, his overall pass blocking efficiency by my charting isn’t bad. If he plays at a similar level to ‘21, I don’t think he’d be a downgrade over what Brown has done the last two seasons if he does indeed get the nod at LT.

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So what’s the plan here?

After looking at Smith, I’m not as anxious at the thought of him starting at LT as I was based on the current narrative surrounding him after a bad 2022 season. I don’t believe he’d be a significant dropoff in pass protection (or any sort of dropoff) from what Brown has been the last several years (for what it’s worth, PFF’s numbers come out roughly the same, for the sake of another set of eyes). I do think he’d be a step back as a run blocker, and perhaps a sizeable one, which is disappointing considering the strides the Chiefs made as a running team last year.

The signing comes as a surprise given how clear Kansas City has been that they view Jawaan Taylor as their LT of the future. While his contract isn’t out of line with top-of-market RT deals, following the draft it certainly felt like the long-term plan was Taylor at LT and several young guys battling it out at RT.

Does signing Smith change that? Again, with the contract deals not out yet, it’s a bit harder to say, but given the cap situation it at least appears to be a deal with either a lot of incentives cooked in (with fewer guarantees) or some void years baked in (which is not something the Chiefs have traditionally done). If either of those are the case, especially the former, it’s just as possible Kansas City brought him in as insurance in case Taylor’s attempted transition to LT doesn’t go smoothly, OR they want a backup LT who can step in without things falling apart. It seems to border on absurd that the Chiefs would have signed a career LT to make the shift to RT while Taylor makes the shift to LT, so I’ve basically ruled that out until told otherwise.

All that said, my current favorite option for the Chiefs is to continue to shift Taylor to LT (where his skillset is perfect provided he can match the switch, which is no guarantee) and that Smith is a well-qualified backup while young guys fight for the RT spot. However, if Smith impresses in OTA’s/camp or Taylor seems at all hesitant in the transition, I could see the Chiefs rolling with Smith, Thuney, Humphrey, Smith, and Taylor from left to right.

I don’t have an issue with keeping the superior pass protector on the right side given the current makeup of the league, as the Chiefs operated that way for years with Schwartz on the right side allowing them to scheme around his dominance. And looking at Smith’s film made that option more palatable to me than it was previously, even if it’s not my preferred route. I don’t think he’s as bad as his 2022 reputation, but I don’t think he’s as good as his 2021 reputation either. But in Kansas City, with the rest of the line that’s in place, he’ll be in a position that if he can just be “average” the line will continue to be dominant. And he’s done that before in pass protection.

We’ll see how things shake out moving forward, but it’s at least an interesting thing to watch in OTA’s.