Tykee Smith 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Background: 

• Recruited as both a cornerback and safety

• Freshman All-America honors by Football Writers
• AP Third Team All-American (2020)

System: 

• Scheme tendencies: Man coverage with simulated pressures
• 2022 projected role: Star position

Pros: Tykee Smith plays a rough and physical brand of football. His toolbelt is equipped with a diverse set of tools. He’s alignment-versatile and plays split, single-high, and in the nickel in run support. He’s a reliable man option versus tight ends. He is disruptive in coverage and plays through the hands of the receiver at the catch point. He has good ball skills when tracking or jostling at the catch point. He’s a punishing and violent tackler. He identifies screens and quickly slips stalk blocks to meet the ball to the target. He has fluid hips to change directions in short space. Smith is a tone-setter with infectious energy on the field. He showcased leadership for West Virginia’s defense, communicating secondary calls from the sideline. His skill set, frame, and playstyle are the mold of Saints defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

Cons: Tykee Smith’s ball production is low, with only four interceptions in his career. He doesn’t possess the great top-end speed to consistently work as a center-fielding, single-high at the next level. He isn’t a high-end athlete. Length prevents him from playing inside the hashes as a nickel or dime backer versus the run. When playing from high, he’s best suited in split safety alignments to play hash to sideline. A foot injury kept him out of the first five games of the season before tearing his ACL in October.

Tykee Smith NFL Draft Scouting Report by Damian Parson