The Buffalo Bills currently have defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, on the injury report after missing Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury.
Despite having drafted two DTs during this past NFL draft, TJ Sanders and Deone Walker, the team could see themselves becoming short-staffed at the position, now that the active roster is down to just three of them – the two rookies alongside veteran nose guard, DaQuan Jones.
Once considered a big strength of the team prior to the start of the regular season, Oliver is the third interior defensive lineman to have been struck by the injury bug, after Larry Ogunjobi and second year third rounder, DeWayne Carter, both landed on IR.
Ogunjobi is set to return in the coming weeks, whilst Carter will sit out the entire year after tearing his Achilles in late August.
So it stands to reason that the team could look to reinforce an area that is lacking both depth and playing experience. And one player that the team could turn to, according to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, is Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle, Mazi Smith.
Buffalo Bills Could Look To Buy Low On High-Upside DT
Smith was relegated to the second string after Kenny Clark’s arrival from Green Bay as part of the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade, and since then has seen very little action on defense.
“Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith was finally active in Week 3.” Knox wrote on Tuesday, “Unfortunately for him, the 2023 first-round pick played just 18 defensive snaps after being inactive the first two weeks.
The start to Smith’s career has been underwhelming, to say the least, even though Dallas has given him plenty of opportunities.”
Smith has not had a great career in the pros to date, as Knox points out. The former Michigan man, who prior to getting selected with the 26th overall pick to the Cowboys was listed as NFL analyst, Bruce Feldman’s top athletic “freak” heading into the 2022 college season, received a pitiful 34.7 grade from Pro Football Focus last season.
This graded him out as one of the worst defensive tackles in football, combining both starters and backups.
Mazi Smith Still Has Considerable Untapped Potential
Despite that, he does still have enormous potential from both his college tape and his raw physical ability, as Knox highlights.
“Smith is a 6’3″, 337-pound 24-year-old who could interest teams seeking a developmental interior defender. If the Cowboys aren’t going to develop him, they should be interested in getting whatever they can in return.”
The Bills do not need a player like Smith to start straight away, but he both provides immediate cover in the case of more injuries at the position and/or a setback to either Oliver and Ogunjobi’s recoveries.
Indeed, despite Smith not impressing vastly in his just 18 snaps in week 3, after being a healthy scratch in weeks 1 and 2, his 44.5 overall grade is technically still a reasonable improvement on a pitiful 2024 season.
Futhermore, there were signs towards the end of last season that his abilities in the run game were improving, as noticed by Marcus Mosher of the ‘Locked On Cowboys’ podcast.
Smith would be not a game-changing for Buffalo, but he could be a smart insurance/developmental play for a team looking to – finally – win it all.
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