Could the Dallas Cowboys use Jaylon Smith primarily as a pass rusher?
By Tim Kohut
After the Dallas Cowboys drafted Leighton Vander Esch, it’s fair to wonder what exactly Jaylon Smith’s fit in the defense is. Could it be as a pass rusher?
The Dallas Cowboys have a good problem on their hands. Last year, when Sean Lee wasn’t on the field, their defense was bad. Like, really bad. So, they went out and drafted Leighton Vander Esch, a middle linebacker with Lee-like qualities. They also have Jaylon Smith, a guy that missed his rookie year after a gruesome knee injury, and played admirably, albeit inconsistently, during his comeback season.
With Smith looking close to 100 percent, the Cowboys now have three explosive linebackers. But in today’s NFL, it’s a rarity to see all three linebackers on the field in the same time, as the nickel package has basically become the new base defense.
But that’s not to say the Cowboys can’t get a little creative utilizing the three.
Dallas announced early in the offseason that they plan on moving Jaylon Smith to strongside linebacker this season. Middle linebacker and the weakside ‘backer are the two most important linebacker positions in the Cowboys’ defense, so Smith’s role as a prototypical linebacker could be greatly diminished at the SAM. However, if the Cowboys turn Smith into a hybrid pass rusher, we can see his value to the Cowboys greatly increase.
Obviously, having three linebackers with blazing sideline-to-sideline speed isn’t a bad thing; especially when all three have some injury concerns. But, when healthy, converting Jaylon Smith to a hybrid pass-rushing Sam linebacker could bring the Cowboys defense to the next level.
Think of Seattle’s defense when they had Bruce Irvin— someone who played that exact role, and played it well. Kris Richard, Seattle’s old defensive coordinator, is bringing aspects of his old schemes to Dallas, and we’ve already seen him change the position of two starting players on the Cowboys defense—Smith and Byron Jones, who is converting back to cornerback. Perhaps Richard’s true intention of moving Smith to the strongside backer was to have him in this hybrid role, all along.
Smith showed flashes of pass rushing ability last season, albeit, in limited snaps. He managed to notch one sack, and four QB pressures. His explosiveness could make him a prime candidate to become an extra rusher in the Cowboys defense.
"“Jaylon Smith has some pass rush moves as a blitzer,” wrote former NFL scout Bryan Broaddus on DallasCowboys.com. “He put a nice little side step move past Ezekiel Elliott in order to put some pressure on Dak Prescott. Elliott is one of the better pass blockers in the league and after the move, he had to scramble a bit just to get his hands on Smith.”"
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Another benefit of having Smith rush the passer more frequently could be keeping him healthy. He would put less stress on his surgically-repaired knee in a pass rushing role, rather than having to cover in space, which requires a lot of lateral movement. Kris Richard likes to play a physical brand of football, and having a hybrid pass rushing Sam linebacker like Smith could be an underrated asset for Dallas’ defense moving forward.