The former Atlanta Falcons head coach discusses the upcoming NFL Draft, Julio Jones’ retirement and the proposed ban of the ‘Tush Push’.
Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith believes Shedeur Sanders has got what it takes to be a successful quarterback in the NFL.
Sanders is widely expected to be selected early in the first round in the upcoming NFL Draft, but the former Colorado quarterback has been heavily scrutinised throughout the pre-Draft process, with some questioning his athleticism and attitude.
In our exclusive interview, Smith also discussed the potential of Cam Ward – the favourite in the NFL betting to be drafted first overall – along with his other favourite prospects and his reaction to Julio Jones’ retirement.
Cam Ward is currently the favorite to be the first pick of this year’s draft. What do you make of his game?
“Cam Ward is the number one quarterback in this year’s draft.
“Just like some elite guys already in the league such as Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, he’s played at multiple colleges in Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami.
“He has shot up draft boards and it’s amazing what he’s done in college. He’s got everything that you’re looking for in a quarterback. Especially when you’re talking measurables as he’s 6′ 2″ and 223 pounds. He’s got the size you want your quarterback to have and he is an electrifying playmaker.
“In his last season, he went 10-3 with Miami, some people were disappointed with that but he did a great job.
“The thing that stands out to me is his ability to throw the ball from multiple arm angles with great velocity.
“He looks very comfortable playing the quarterback position to the point where he makes it look easy sometimes. He will be very comfortable in an NFL situation too.
“His offseason might’ve been even better as he had one of the best pro day workouts. He looked unbelievable. He impressed and he’ll definitely be the number one quarterback off the board.”
What do you make of the fit between Ward and the Tennessee Titans, should they select him first overall?
“The Tennessee Titans hold the first pick and they are in need of a quarterback so he should go off the board at number one.
“Ward would be a good fit for Coach Brian Callahan too as he has all the things he’d be looking for in a quarterback. He’s a very confident player who has played in many systems.
“He’s got a strong arm. He can throw off schedule and he’s athletic enough which are two important attributes for a quarterback in today’s NFL.
“The Titans are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback who can lead the team for the next decade and Ward can be that guy. He’s a great fit for them.”
Shedeur Sanders is the other most talked about quarterback prospect. What do you make of his game?
“There are all sorts of opinions in regards to where Shedeur Sanders will be drafted and what kind of success he is going to have in the NFL.
“If you watch the tape, you can see that Sanders is an outstanding quarterback.
“He’s done so many great things in college, both at the University of Colorado and at Jackson State, that you want to see in an NFL quarterback.
“His measurables might not be the greatest and his size might not be the traditional prototypical size for a pro QB but he has IT. It’s hard to describe what IT is but he does a great job with ball security. Statistically, he can be as good as any quarterback taken in the last decade.
“Regardless of whether he goes 2nd, 10th or 21st, I really believe Sanders is going to be a very successful quarterback in the NFL.
“He completed 74% of his passes last season despite being under constant pressure. He can play behind a subpar offensive line and still be successful. He’s a winner. He took Jackson State, who were terrible, and helped turn them around from his freshman year onwards.”
Sanders has faced criticism due to his personality at times in his college career, do you think this is a concern or is it unfair?
“This is an unfair evaluation of Sanders.
“You want players to be confident in who they are and he is very confident in his skin.
“He’s going to be a second-generation NFL player and his dad may be the best athlete to ever play the game so there’s always going to be a lot of attention on him. He has been in the limelight for a number of years going back to his high school days in Texas. He’s used to this.
“As a coach, you want to have confident players on your team and Sanders exudes it.
“When your quarterback is confident in his ability, you have a better chance to be successful. He’ll always be talked about by the media, but I believe Sanders is going to be a very successful player in the NFL.”
What are your overall thoughts on this year’s quarterback class?
“The NFL is a quarterback driven league and always will be but unlike the last couple of years, it’s a down year for quarterbacks.
“You’re only going to see two in the first round this year for definite.
“There’s some others outside of the top two (Ward and Sanders) who are gaining attention too though in Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Riley Leonard (Notre Dame) and Will Howard (Ohio State).
“Howard is a winner and he’s got good measurables.
“Last year, a lot of people would’ve thought Quinn Ewers out of Texas might be the number one guy in this draft but now it seems like no one even has him going in the first round.
“All these guys will get an opportunity but this isn’t a front ended draft class at quarterback.”
Outside of the top two in Ward and Sanders, do you have a favorite quarterback prospect?
“I do and it’s Jaxson Dart. Dart has the physical makeup to be a very good NFL quarterback. He’s the next best guy after Ward and Sanders.
“I really like Riley Leonard too who finished his career at Notre Dame. He also has the makeup that teams will want to have in their quarterback.
“Those are the two quarterbacks who could surprise a lot of people in the NFL.”
How do you expect Travis Hunter’s game to translate to the NFL?
“It’s a very unique time in the history of the NFL because we’re talking about the potential of a true full-time two-way player. Some players have dabbled on the other side of the ball but not like Hunter has done.
“There are some strong conversations going on right now within NFL teams on how they’d use Hunter who has said he would like to play both sides.
“He was the best pure athlete in college football. It doesn’t matter whether he ends up playing wide receiver or defensive back, there’s nobody like him right now and there’s not been anybody like him for a number of years.
“Some teams will even consider whether he is a two-way player because there’s a lot of wear and tear in both positions he plays.
“Hunter’s position will be an interesting conversation throughout the offseason. I can’t see him being a full-time two-way player in the NFL who plays almost every snap because that will just increase the wear and tear on his body.
“When you draft a player in the top five like Hunter, you’re wanting to make a commitment for 10 plus years, not just three or four years.
“I hope the team who drafts Hunter will do what is in his best interests which will mean he will have a longer career.
“We really won’t know how teams will plan to use Hunter until week one. If I was a coach on the team who drafted him, I would definitely not be announcing how we’re going to use him in order to gain an advantage.”
Where does Hunter have a higher ceiling? wide receiver or cornerback?
“His measurables are more in line with the defensive backs.
“It’s a tough question though because when you watch the tape, it’s so impressive how he reacts to offenses when he is playing defensive back and it’s equally as impressive when you see him getting wide open as a receiver.
“But because of the measurables, I would lean towards saying he has a slightly higher ceiling as a defensive back.
“Having said that, I would definitely still have packages for Hunter on offense where he would get five chances a game to show his athleticism on that side of the ball too.”
What do you make of Abdul Carter’s game? How good can the Penn State pass rusher be in the NFL?
“This guy is special.
“He is an excellent football player who has premier, day-one, walk on the field and contribute towards the pass rush right away ability.
“He’s got natural pass rush instincts and that’s hard to teach and even harder to develop.
“He’s very good friends with the Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons who also went to Penn State and he has a similar skill set to Parsons too. Regardless of whether teams use him off the ball or on the line, he’s going to rush when the ball is snapped the majority of the time, just like Parsons does.
“Carter is a game-wrecker and he will be a game-wrecker from day one in the NFL. His numbers are off the chart. Some scouts say he is still raw and needs to be more polished but he absolutely has the skill set to be an elite pass rusher in the NFL.
“It is a very deep draft class for edge rushers. Anywhere from five to eight could potentially go in the first round. Then there’s another few who have second round grades which means we could potentially have up to 10 edge rushers off the board in just these two rounds.
“You obviously have Carter and then there’s Jalon Walker who had a hell of a year at Georgia. I’m excited about Mike Green from Marshall too and James Pearce Jr. had a breakout season at Tennessee as well.”
The Cleveland Browns will most likely have a chance to draft Carter at number two overall. How dominant could a duo of Carter and Myles Garrett be?
“That would get a lot of Cleveland Browns fans excited but the person who would be most excited is Jim Schwartz who is the defensive coordinator.
“Schwartz would think ‘my gosh, what could I do with those two players on the field at the same time?’ because he’s been a very good defensive mind in the NFL. He did it in Tennessee for a lot of years and then in Philadelphia where he won a Super Bowl.
“Cleveland has had a top tier defense in recent years. Adding Carter and partnering him with Garrett would mean they’d be able to create a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
“This would make it a lot easier for the defensive backs in Cleveland too because there would be tight ends and running backs who aren’t going to be getting out and running their routes as they’ll be chipping Carter and Garrett.
“It would be almost impossible for offenses to scheme ways to nullify both of those guys.”
Will Campbell is one of the top prospects on the offensive line but there is some concern over his arm length, do you see this as a concern?
“Every year there’s the same discussions, it’s just different names.
“The first thing people talk about with offensive linemen when they want to knock them is arm length.
“But there’s been a number of great offensive linemen who have played in the NFL that haven’t had the best arm length.
“Some say a smaller arm length can make it harder for offensive tackles to be successful in the NFL and they’re right to a point, but ultimately, the tape does not lie.
“When you watch the tape, know what his measurables are and you see that he’s still playing at a very high level with a very high grade, you have to trust what you see on the tape.
“The measurables are sometimes overweighted when talking about football players. The tape is the most important thing.”
If Campbell’s size proves to be an issue, could he be forced to move to offensive guard?
“Well, you have to have flexibility anyway. On game day, you only dress seven so you have to have people who can play both positions as this helps the team.
“Even if he is moved to guard though, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“In today’s NFL, you have to have some players on the offensive line who are trained to play guard and tackle. This is because it’s not always necessarily the edge rushers that are going to be the most disruptive pass rushers.
“There’s a bunch of really good players who line up over the guards. With the defensive schemes of today, the best pass rushers move around too so they’re not always on the edge.
“Dan Quinn did this really well with Micah Parsons in Dallas where he would sometimes even line up against the center or the guard. This is becoming more common in the NFL.”
Mason Graham is another prospect who has faced criticism over his size. What do you think about his game and can he still dominate despite the size concerns?
“He can absolutely be dominant in the NFL.
“He was a unanimous All-American this year and he was the anchor of that Michigan defense when he was named Rose Bowl MVP during their national championship run.
“He’s a winner and a lot of people in the league still think he is the guy that stands out on the defensive side of the ball this year.
“Don’t worry about measurables because when you turn the tape on, he shows the talent needed in order to be a great disruptive presence on the interior defensive line.
“You want to make quarterbacks uncomfortable and the quickest way to do this is by getting pressure inside. Graham can definitely do this at the next level.”
Ashton Jeanty is the top running back prospect this year. What did you think of his play at Boise State and how good can he be in the NFL?
“He is a beast. His skill set for the NFL is off the charts.
“He would be a good fit for any team in the league. He was the Heisman Trophy runner up and only lost out because his competition was Travis Hunter.
“Jeanty tore up all levels of football. Boise State plays in the Mountain West Conference and some will use this as a knock on Jeanty and say the level of competition isn’t that good compared to the Power Four. But even when Boise State played against better competition, Jeanty tended to play well.
“His numbers are unbelievable. He rushed for nearly five thousand yards, had multiple 200-yard games and he came really close to breaking Bary Sanders’ single season record which has been in place for a long time.
“He is a very productive player and this production will carry over into the NFL. He’s a special guy. He’s a great football player you can plug in and he’ll contribute right away from day one.
“The Las Vegas Raiders’ John Spytek was the only GM to visit Boise State’s pro day but that doesn’t mean they’ll be the only team interested in Jeanty. You can’t predict picks based on who is at someone’s workout, but the Raiders will definitely have some interest in him.”
Outside of the top prospects mentioned, who are some other draft prospects you like?
“Jalon Walker from Georgia is one of my favorite prospects this year. He is a stud. I really like what he brings to the game. He’s a high motor guy and he is relentless. When he gets wound up, he is hard to stop.
“He has the ability to play off the ball as a linebacker but whoever drafts him will make sure that the majority of the time, he is going to be rushing the passer, even if he hasn’t got his hand in the dirt in a three point stance.
“He’s a special player.
“On the offensive side, I am very excited to watch Matthew Golden from Texas and see how he develops.
“Right now, there’s speculation that Dallas needs another wide receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb. We know how the Cowboys love measurables and Golden has great measurables. He doesn’t have good speed or great speed, he has elite speed.
“He would be a really good compliment to Lamb. If you had those two guys on the field at the same time, it would make the offensive so much more dynamic than it already is. There’d be one guy who would definitely be excited about this and that’s the quarterback – Dak Prescott.
“Another prospect I really like is Colston Loveland from Michigan. A lot of people aren’t talking about him as much because of the position he plays (tight end). He would be a great fit for Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. They need to give Young some weapons. I loved Loveland’s tape and I’ve heard good things about him too.”
You were the Head Coach when the Atlanta Falcons drafted Julio Jones. Can you tell us about the decision to trade up for Jones and give us an insight into just how good he was?
“At the time, people said over and over again that the Falcons gave up way too much in order to move up and select Julio. I call BS on that.
“We traded up to number six and gave Cleveland our first round, second round and fourth round picks, as well as a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick from the following year. People were asking what are the Falcons doing giving up this much for a wide receiver?
“It became one of the best trades in Atlanta Falcons history.
“Julio Jones’ athleticism and playmaking ability was something that changed the trajectory of the Falcons.
“We already had some good players in Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner. But we felt that we needed to add another piece who was a game-changer on the field.
“We knew that we were giving away next year’s first rounder as well, but we felt that this pick would be closer to a second rounder anyway if we did what we were supposed to do on the field.
“People beat the Falcons up for the decision but it was obviously the right decision in hindsight to give up that draft capital for a guy who is almost impossible to cover in one-on-one situations.
“Julio’s numbers and production are out of this world but he also helped the rest of the offense too.
“We could throw the ball to one of the greatest ever players to play the position in Julio because of his size, speed, athleticism and toughness but it made the other guys better too because defenses would roll the coverage to wherever we’d line Julio up.
“That opened up plays for White, Gonzalez and Turner. You can’t just look at the pure statistics when you’re talking about an offensive skill player, it’s what he brings to the overall offensive production. But even when you look at the numbers, Julio’s are Hall of Fame worthy. He just helped the other guys’ numbers go up as well.
“When they would single Julio, Matt Ryan would be all over it and he would get the ball to him. That was a wonderful offensive unit and Julio did so much for the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive scheme. It wasn’t just the mind-boggling catches or numbers, he helped everyone be more productive.”
How soon did you realize that Jones was a special player?
“When we watched him play at Alabama, we already had a good idea. He was playing at the highest level in college and dominating in the SEC.
“It wasn’t just a one-off game or play, it was game after game after game. It didn’t matter if they were playing against the University of Florida, Tennessee or anyone else, he was a dominant football player.
“When we actually got to see him on a day-to-day basis and saw how athletic, strong and quick he was, we realized he was going to be impossible to cover in one-on-one situations.
“If you were game planning and you said you weren’t going to double Julio Jones, you were getting your ass beat that day. Plain and simple.
“He was going to dominate the game if you didn’t roll the coverage his way or double him. He was a dominant player.”
Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have dominated the offseason headlines. Wilson has signed with the New York Giants whereas Rodgers remains unsigned. Do you think these quarterbacks have elite years of play left in them?
“Both of these guys are Hall of Fame worthy players when you look at their career but they’re both not the players they were years ago.
“They might not dominate games like they have but they’ll dominate the headlines that’s for sure.
“They’re not going to play at the level they did in their prime. Father Time is undefeated in the NFL. At some point you won’t be able to produce to your usual standards and that’s just the way the league is.
“But even though they’re on the downside of their careers, their upside was so high that they can both still play to a level in which you can win with.
“Based on what I saw last year, I’d say Rodgers and Wilson still have gas left in the tank.
“Very rarely do guys step away from the game on their own accord, especially when you’re getting paid what these guys at the quarterback position are getting paid.
“They have a limited number of years where they can be earning this amount of money which is why you don’t often see guys announcing their retirement early. Usually, they’re cut or released and have to retire.
“Are they going to be the same guys they were in their prime? Probably not but they may be able to play well enough to win. That’s the key.”
The Green Bay Packers proposed a tush push ban which has been tabled for now. What are your thoughts on the play? Is it unfair or should defenses learn how to stop it?
“There’s obviously an appetite amongst the NFL teams to really dive into this play and see if it should be banned.
“There was a similar play which was outlawed over a century ago called the flying wedge. There’s not many pictures or videos of it but it was outlawed by college football before the NFL was in existence.
“It was a very dangerous play and it caused a lot of injuries. If I was alive and a fan of football back then, I wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of guys marching like an army with the football back and forth.
“So, I’m not a fan of the look of the tush push. I’ve always asked myself why is this legal?
“It doesn’t make sense to me that you can grab a runner and just push them over the line. It’s a successful play but it’s not a great play.
“We’re getting closer and closer to a final decision being made on this play. For me, I’d just be concerned about player safety and player safety is the number one priority for the NFL in almost every discussion they have now.
“It’s also an ugly play and I’m not just saying that because I have a defensive background.”