During the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders used their fifth round selection on Chris Smith II, an exciting safety prospect out of the University of Georgia.
Smith had an excellent collegiate career, and was one of the most important members of an elite defense at Georgia. Despite his success in college though, Smith found it hard to get snaps during his rookie season in Las Vegas.
“I felt like a little bit of last year that I just wasn’t as locked in mentally with the ins and outs of the game, studying the quarterbacks and the offenses and schemes.” Smith said after practice on Tuesday.
“Of course it’s something I’ve always done, but I want to take that extra step this year to go out and play a little bit faster.”
Earning his place isn’t something that’s necessarily new to Smith. He spent five years at Georgia, but he was a non-factor for the first two of those. Smith appeared only as a reserve in 2018 and 2019, making just 11 combined tackles during those two seasons.
However, instead of transferring to a new school with hopes of more playing time, Smith worked as hard as he could, and managed to earn a starting role, where he eventually excelled.