Cam Smith NFL Draft Scouting Report

CB, South Carolina Gamecocks

Cam Smith developed into an impact starter for South Carolina, where he routinely matched up with top competition and conceded very little in coverage. 

Smith is a highly-competitive defender that plays the game with confidence and physicality. He’s a twitchy athlete with good speed, loose hips, and quick feet that lead to sticky reps in man coverage. Smith is patient and balanced at the line of scrimmage and he’s more than willing to crowd and leverage releases to create early disruption on routes. I love the way he competes to get off blocks and tackle. He’s an enthusiastic tackler that is never passive. Smith features dynamic click-and-close ability when driving back down the stem to invade the catch point. He is a poised defender that never panics. Smith showcases outstanding ball skills where his body control ability to locate the football leads to exciting plays on the ball in the air. Overall, Smith is a sharp processor with excellent play recognition skills.

While it’s easy to love his aggressiveness as a tackler, there are times that Smith doesn’t do a good enough job wrapping up and looks to take out the feet of the ball carrier, which leads to an occasional whiff. For his physical style of play, ideally, he’d have a touch more weight on his frame. I find Smith to be mostly patient and balanced at the line of scrimmage, but he does have some over-eager moments when looking to create jams where he fires his hands with dead feet and it causes him to fold at the waist and get off-balance. Smith fell victim to frequent penalty flags in 2022, mainly due to some grabbiness in coverage that will need to be corrected. 

Smith has the makings of a quality starting cornerback in the NFL and it’s not unreasonable to think he can start early in his career. 

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Quick feet and fluid hips
• Coverage instincts and ball skills
• Physicality and competitive toughness 

Top Reasons For Concern:

• Tackling consistency
• Over-aggressiveness in coverage
• A touch lean 

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 6′ 1”

Weight: 180 lbs

Arm Length: 31 5/8”

Hand Size: 9 1/8”

Athletic Testing (NFL Combine):

40-yard Dash: 4.43s

Vertical Jump: 38”

Broad Jump: 11′ 2”

Short-Shuttle: TBD

Three-Cone: TBD

Bench Reps: TBD

Ideal Role: Starting outside corner 

Scheme Fit: Man coverage 

Prospect Comparison: A.J. Terrell (2020 NFL Draft) 

TDN Consensus Grade: 85.50/100 (First-Round Value)

• Marino Grade: 85.50/100

Written By: Joe Marino

Exposures: Clemson (2021), Vanderbilt (2021), Missouri (2021), Kentucky (2022), Tennessee (2022), Arkansas (2022), Clemson (2022)

Cam Smith NFL Draft Scouting Report. Add him to your big board here.