Lecitus Smith NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for Arizona Cardinals’ IOL

Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

HEIGHT: 6’3 1/4″

WEIGHT: 314

HAND: 9 5/8″

ARM: 31 7/8″

WINGSPAN: 6’6 3/4″

40-YARD DASH: 5.18

3-CONE: 7.88

SHUTTLE: 4.78

VERTICAL: DNP

BROAD: 8’3″

POSITIVES

— Rugged, physical and tone-setting demeanor.

— Very good play strength, square power and heavy hands.

— Explodes into contact with low pad level and good aiming points to cover up, fit and latch defenders in the run game with excellent grip strength to sustain and control blocks.

— Runs his feet with the leg drive to create displacement, reset the line of scrimmage and create alleys off of his backside.

— Technician on double-teams and combo blocks with a good sense of how to fit, feed and secure blocks on different alignments and fronts.

— Delivers stiff single hand strikes in pass protection and catches rushers leaning with a potent snatch/trap technique.

— Drops his anchor, creates force through the ground, lift with his hands and grinds the bull-rush to a halt.

— Shows good processing skills to decipher basic line games and stunts.

NEGATIVES

— Short arms cause him to get pressed off and flattened out on attempted reach/scoop blocks.

— Struggles to protect his edges once rushers get perpendicular to his body, creating soft corners.

— Below-average lateral quickness and ability to redirect.

— Not a lot of burst to get to fast-flowing second level targets.

2021 STATISTICS

— 10 starts with nine at LG and one at LT.

NOTES

— Former 3-star tight end prospect out of Fitzgerald High School in Georgia.

— 37 career starts (36 at LG, 1 at LT).

— Suffered an ankle sprain against Duke in Week 10 of the 2021 season that kept him out of the season’s final two games. Smith opted out of the team’s bowl game to prepare for the draft.

— Accepted an invite to the 2022 Senior Bowl.

OVERALL

Lecitus Smith was a three-year starter inside Virginia Tech’s multiple run scheme with 37 career starts almost exclusively at left guard and a lone start at left tackle against Richmond in 2021.

Smith has a sawed-off, stout build with good thickness in his lower half. He is a tone-setter who

uses very good play strength, leverage and square power to create consistent movement,

sustain and control blocks in the run game.

Smith explodes into contact with low pad level and an iron head to deliver jolt on contact with excellent leg drive to ‘step on the toes’ of defenders to eliminate space and displace them off the spot. He puts defenders in a cage once latched and finishes through the echo of the whistle.

In pass protection, Smith has a stiff outside punch to deliver a jolt and naturally works his hands inside against the bull-rush to create lift, force through the ground and a firm anchor.

He does show below average lateral agility, upfield burst and marginal arm length that limits his ability to track fast-flowing targets at the second level and protect his edges when rushers get perpendicular with him. These issues also limit his ability to hook and complete reach/scoop blocks due to him getting pressed and flattened.

Overall, Smith is an impact run-blocker in a downhill run scheme predicated off of inside zone, duo and power. He has the demeanor, play strength and technique to displace, sustain and control blocks consistently and is a firm, reliable anchor in pass protection. Once he gets latched, the rep is typically over.

Smith’s pro fit may be best at center to play in a more confined space where he can get his hands on defenders more quickly and dictate terms to the opponent.

GRADE: 7.3 (High-level backup/Potential starter – 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 81

POSITION RANK: IOL9

PRO COMPARISON: Nate Davis

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn