The Las Vegas Raiders have largely been hindered by their inability to draft effectively in recent years. The first-round busts get most of the attention, but a lack of value found on Days 2 and 3 has arguably hurt the franchise just as much.
While the team has selected several talented players with upside in the later rounds, they did not necessarily have the infrastructure in place to develop them. Now, however, the team has an experienced coaching staff and a commitment to letting everyone on the roster compete.
This is important anyway, but it becomes even more critical when a player suddenly goes down with an injury. Recent free agent addition Lonnie Johnson Jr. broke his fibula during Saturday's mock game, and while devastating, a former late-round draft pick is finally getting his shot in Las Vegas.
Chris Smith II coming on strong for Raiders' secondary in wake of injury
In the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected Georgia safety Chris Smith II with the No. 170 overall pick. He was immediately buried on the depth chart behind Tre'Von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, and Isaiah Pola-Mao broke out in front of him as well.
Through his first two NFL seasons, he has played in 27 games, but almost exclusively in a special-teams role. He has logged 467 snaps on special teams in comparison to only 33 on defense and just 11 a year ago.
It seemed like more of the same was coming for Smith again this season, as the team extended Pola-Mao and added both Johnson and Jeremy Chinn from outside the building. However, when Johnson went down with an injury on Saturday, Smith was surprisingly the first player to step in.
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This was not just a random, spur-of-the-moment decision either. During Monday's practice, The Athletic's Tashan Reed also noted that Smith was the first to rotate in at high safety during nickel packages when Chinn slides down to the slot.
Smith has seemingly answered the bell, too, as Levi Edwards of Raiders.com reported that he made multiple plays during practice on Monday. If he continues to play at this rate, then Smith could find himself in a significant role after being largely written off by the franchise and fan base.
At 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Smith does not seem like the prototypical defensive back in Pete Carroll's system. However, upon further evaluation, his measurables are quite similar to those of legendary Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, who had tons of success under Carroll.
While Smith is a far, far cry from being considered in the same stratosphere as Thomas, perhaps Carroll and his unwavering positivity see similar traits in him. At the very least, his role should increase in Johnson's unfortunate absence.