Overview

Position: CB

College: Washington State

Class: Senior

Age: 21

Measurables

Height: 5’9 3/4″

Weight: 184 lbs.

Arm length: 30 1/4″

Hand size: 9 1/8”

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.54 sec.

10-yard split: 1.55 sec.

Vertical jump: 34.5”

Broad jump: 125.0”

Bench press: 18 reps

3-cone drill: 7.05 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.32 sec.

Strengths

Extremely strong for his size. Ferocious in coverage. Press jams are aggressive and powerful. Very smooth in the side shuffle. Fluid overall movement skills and quickness. Great feet to open up and cover vertically. Terrific competitiveness at the catch point. Tries to disrupt receivers with the ball in the air downfield without grabbing. Good recovery quickness if beaten. Closes quick after allowing a catch. Able to stick with pass-catchers on broken plays. Has shown tremendous ball skills. Mostly played left cornerback but has experience on the right side and in the slot. Great instincts to play screen passes to wide receivers. Fast and doesn’t tip his hand blitzing. Extremely aggressive and physical hitter for his size. Will make a head-on tackle versus bigger ball-carriers in the hole. Excellent pursuit. Shows no hesitation in run support. Will fly up and try to absolutely drill opponents. Can come under control to stop after running in for a tackle. Gives effort to get off blocks. Will throw his body around to take out a lead blocker. Hustles away from the ball. Has a general swagger and confidence to his game.

Weaknesses

Below-average size on the perimeter. Average speed and could have trouble preventing fast opponents from getting a step downfield. Allows some space out of route breaks from the side shuffle. Can get fooled by outside sells on slant routes. Needs to be better about taking the deeper responsibility in zone coverage. Will miss some tackles going low and missed a few versus Arizona (2023).

NFL comparison

Amik Robertson

Conclusion

Overall, Smith-Wade is a ferocious cornerback that plays much bigger than his size both in coverage and versus the run. His best fit would likely be in a zone-heavy defense where he can stay closer to the action and make tackles.

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: CB Chau Smith-Wade