Name:Rod Smith
Position:RB
College:Ohio State
Height: 6-3
Weight:231
Draft: Undrafted in 2015, signed by Seattle
Games Studied: 2015 preseason vs. DEN, KC, SD, OAK
Report:Right off the bat, Smith has rare height and weight for the position.
All of his runs with Seattle were out of the shotgun formation with inside handoffs. I would not say that he has great playing speed or quickness. It takes him time to get going once the ball is in his hands – it's a long stride that lacks a burst. He doesn't have short area foot quickness and creativity, as he stumbled on a couple of runs in the open field but managed to keep his balance to finish the run.
Smith did flash some upper and lower body power, but I was surprised he didn't run over more tacklers on contact due to his size. He did have a nice stiff arm against the Chiefs in the open field that bought him some space.
He's not a loose hipped runner, but he does have good vision to see the holes and make cuts when necessary. Shows patience as a runner, but it's really due more to his lack of quickness. There was one carry where he did put the ball on the ground against San Diego where it was a physical finish – but his teammate was able to recover.
I would not call him elusive in the open field, but he did have better carries outside than in. He's a tall runner, so naturally his pad level is going to be higher than most. The Seahawks used him in the passing game on screens, so he has a feel for how to set up then execute.
Smith's size helps in pass protection. I can understand why the front office made this claim due to the fact that I feel like he could better downhill player than playing sideways. It's the same problem that DeMarco Murray has in Philadelphia. Need to get him the ball going toward the line then he has a chance to get going.
