Pass-rush specialist, Chuck Smith, joined Dukes & Bell for his weekly appearance on the show and talked about his work so far this offseason with Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis and why he thinks Davis will be a great player in the NFL.
When asked if Jordan Davis can be more than just a run-stopper in the NFL.
“Well, first and foremost he’s more than just a two-gap, play-one-down guy and people gotta understand also it’s about situational rotation. People beat Jordan up for that, but Georgia had hell of dudes so it’s in the best interest, obviously to rotate them,” Smith said. “He’s quick, he can develop into a pass-rusher, he’s got movement, he’s got all kinds of different skills that he really has and I think in a different scheme, you got to look at the scheme, he played in a great scheme at Georgia. But depending on the team and where he goes, this guy can be a pass-rusher.”
Smith compared how Davis is being talked about to some prominent NFL defensive lineman when they were going through the draft process.
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“Let’s talk about Cam Heyward, when he came out of Ohio State everybody said he’s a run-stuffer," Smith said. "He was at Pittsburgh he was a run-stuffer as well as Stephon Tuitt. But guess what, Cam Heyward is a two-time double-digit sacker now. He can rush, people don’t say that no more.
"The last one I’m gonna say hit’s close to home. Our best player and one of the best defensive lineman in our franchise history, Grady Jarrett. When Grady came in, what did they say he was? A run-stuffer. When he was at Clemson, he was what? He played on first down, second down, but he was a part of a rotation but Grady developed into what? He came in, he was always a better rusher than he was given credit for. He came to the Falcons, he got coached up and he also put a lot of his own time in, and now no one ever talks about that.
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"So to me when you’re talking about Jordan Davis, you gotta also look there’s another side to this. Grady did it, Cam did it. The big guys aren’t the same as they as it was back in my day.”