Mazi Smith will have a lot of pressure put on him and has more to prove than anyone else on the Cowboys roster.
Mazi Smith was the No. 28 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft as the Dallas Cowboys finally appeared to take the defensive tackle position seriously. Unfortunately, his rookie season wound up being a disappointment.
Smith hardly saw the field, and when he was out there, he didn’t do anything significant. He was often slow off the snap and played underweight—although that was said to be due to Dan Quinn’s preference.
Heading into his second season, Smith is penciled in as the starter, but that’s due to the lack of options rather than anything he put on film. With this added pressure, Smith enters the season with more to prove than any other player on the roster, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
Moore has been focusing on players with much to prove this season and finished his series with Smith at No. 1, saying the nose tackle was added to slow down the opposing team’s ground game but “didn’t make much of an impact.”
Smith logged just 304 snaps and had 15 tackles. His lack of usage in the postseason was even more concerning, picking up just four snaps against the Green Bay Packers.
New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer seems to be taking the approach that 2023 should be erased from his memory, saying he plans to start with the basics.
“I heard that he kind of struggled last year. We’re going to start with the basics. Get him in a good stance, get him using his hands the right way, getting his footwork the right way and kind of go from there. We anticipate that he’s going to be a good player like he was in college.’’ — Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer
A reset might be what Smith needs, but he will be behind the eight ball again since offseason shoulder surgery has limited him thus far. The Cowboys hope he’ll be cleared early in camp, which will be vital for him to handle the pressure that will be put on him.