Cam Smith is CB1, Whether You Like it Or Not

First Round Mock NFL Draft Analyst Thomas Morris disagrees with a lot of popular opinions out there, and tags South Carolina’s Cam Smith as his CB1.

Let’s get right into this

Smith stands at 6-foot-0, 188 pounds, and not many out there seem to have him as their top cornerback (CB) in this upcoming draft.

This mistake will probably just fuel the fire when it comes to Smith, who’s proven doubters wrong throughout his college career, and in the NFL, it will be no different.

Smith showing improvement every college season should be something any NFL team looks for in a player. Smith has the confidence any CB in the NFL should have, believing that he could cover any and everyone.

Smith’s impact on games isn’t always evident on the stat sheet, but that’s only because teams rarely threw it his way.

Opposing teams had to game plan around Smith.

Viewing the game film (embedded below) gives you a glimpse of how he can completely neutralize and frustrate an opposing team’s receiver with his coverage.

Smith is a force to be reckoned with

He plain will do everything he can to stop receivers from catching the ball.

Here’s a run down of what I saw on game film:

-Hits hard and often

-Rarely if ever lets receivers get behind him

-Sticks like glue onto receivers

-Makes every catch a difficult one

-has the physicality to match up with any receiver regardless of size

-can track the ball with the best of them

-has instincts for where the ball is going to go

While tackling isn’t his strongest attribute, he gets the job done.

Because of his style of play, he additionally has the tendency to get flagged on pass interference calls, but he makes up for it with his ball skills.

Even when a receiver makes the catch, Smith punches and jabs at the ball on the way down.

He’s willing to do the dirty work

Smith doesn’t hesitate when it comes to trying to tackle, it’s just not one of his strengths as I mentioned. However, once he wraps up, he isn’t letting go when it comes to tackling, even if he’s significantly smaller than the ball carrier – – and every now and again he occasionally makes a great open field tackle.

This South Carolina corner is just not consistent enough as a tackler, but it certainly is not due to a lack of effort. He makes ball carriers feel it when he hits them. He just can’t be trusted as a tackler in those situations.

Many corners shy away from run support and helping to push the pile backwards, but Smith embraces it. He doesn’t shy away from these situations often trying to rip the ball out. The willingness is what sets Smith apart from the rest of the corners in this draft class.

Where does he fit in?

Smith should prove valuable to any team with a need at CB. He certainly has the mentality to be great in the NFL, while doing anything and everything he can to get in the receivers’ head.

Pass interference calls could definitely be a concern at the next level, but his positive attributes outweigh the negative.

With that being said, he could fall out of the top ten due to the other great corners in this draft.

Send the card in based on this game film study

Draft Grade: Mid First-Round

Games Evaluated: (click to view games used to form this evaluation)

Tennessee ’22

Kentucky ’22

Arkansas ’22

With Smith’s skill set, look for him to have a long and successful career in the NFL.

Thomas Morris is a lifelong football fan that has an immense passion for the game and prides himself on having an eye for talent throughout all 7 rounds of the draft. He’s a dedicated Seahawks and South Carolina Gamecocks’ fan that has an instinct for discovering gems in the later rounds.  He writes for FirstRoundMock.com covering the NFL draft and can be found on Twitter @tjm2332.