Originally Posted by :
Henry Louis "Trey" Smith III has gone through much adversity since high school but continues to battle. His mother, Dorsetta, passed away from congestive heart failure when he was at the University School at Jackson in Tennessee. While there, he excelled on the gridiron, winning the Mr. Football Award twice and garnering a first-team All-American and top-10 overall recruit rating nationally. The Volunteers kept him in-state, and he received second-team All-SEC, Freshman All-American, and SEC All-Freshman recognition as a 12-game starter (eight at right guard, four at left tackle). After the season, however, he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs. Smith fought through that malady to return for the 2018 campaign but had to stop after seven starts at left tackle as doctors believed the clots had returned. However, additional study of those test results showed that doctors might have actually seen scar tissue from the previous clots. Smith worked hard in the offseason, losing 40 pounds, and he garnered 2019 first-team All-SEC honors after moving inside to left guard, where he started 12 of 13 games played. He was a first-team all-conference selection again in 2020, starting all 11 games at left guard for the Volunteers. He received the Jason Witten Award for leadership on the field and community service off the field, as well as the Fritz Pollard Trophy for extraordinary courage and community values. He accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. -- by Chad Reuter
Overview
When putting together a guard built for an NFL power-based scheme, the blueprint would probably look like Smith. He's big, wide, strong, long and will flash an aggressive streak when he gets geared up. The lack of body control and technique he put on tape suggests it may be difficult for him to overcome his limited athleticism. An offseason of fundamentals work should help Smith become more efficient into first contact, which will really unlock his power at the point of attack. He's been one of the more talked about guard prospects over the last few years but might be in for a bumpy beginning as he adjusts to the athletes and technicians he will face as a pro. Strengths
Elite size and length for the position.
Frame is broad and thick.
Very heavy-handed with plus upper-body strength.
Able to throw a sack of bricks at opponent when he punches.
Has physical potential to become dominant with better technique.
Drive power to turn base blocks out of the gap.
Can bang and cave his down-blocks.
Knock-back pop on both first and second levels.
Good job of finding targets on his short pulls.
Sets a very firm anchor against bull rushers.
Has faced off against a variety of current pro defenders during career.
Weaknesses
Lack of range shows up in run game and pass sets.
Long first step, causing him to overshoot his landmark and lose positioning.
Needs better footwork and hand clinch for improved sustain.
Will cheat secure block to save time getting up to linebacker on combos.
Plays with hitch and outside hands with pass punch.
Below-average body control and recovery potential.
Loses balance and positioning against rush counters.
Struggles to redirect weight after biting on fakes in pass pro.
Slide quickness to cut off the gaps is a concern.
Has dealt with blood clotting issues.
Sources Tell Us
"I guess you don't like big, aggressive guards, Lance? I know he has things to work on, but they can be coached up. The (history of blood clots) is a much bigger issue than anything on tape for me." -- Personnel executive for NFC team
I’m so happy for @TreySmith73 going to the @chiefs. Finally. Chiefs Kingdom got an awesome player and fantastic human!!
Blythe may get the starting duties over Smith because he has NFL experience. But after listening to people like Thuney gush over Trey makes me think he will be going into beast mode during camp and will win the job.
Originally Posted by Halfcan:
Doubtful, Brown and Thuney need to protect Mahomes's blindside. If teams can't get any pressure on the left side, Mahomes is going to pick them apart.
Niang will be a backup to start.
Brown, Thuney, Creed, Trey, Remmers - that will be the starters-imo.
Originally Posted by Halfcan:
Yep, I think Niang still has a huge learning curve ahead. Remmers can keep his spot warm and not get Mahomes killed.
Andy has called out Remmers a few times in a positive way, it seems he really likes him.
Remmers filled in quite admirably when Schwartz went down last year at RT. I think a lot of the hate towards him is because he was awful in the SB at LT. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
Doesn’t mean much? It means a lot.
When Andy immediately plugs in a rookie like that this early, you can pretty much count on him being the starter barring injury or disaster play. He very rarely does that, and when he does, I don’t think there’s any going back. If Blythe had a legit chance to start, he would’ve at least had the job to start offseason workouts (like Remmers).
Humphrey is going to be your week 1 starter at C.
As I said, it means shit. It's minicamp, not training camp. Let's see what goes down in late July and early August. Until then, all it is are more reps for the youngsters before the real thing starts, and not much more. It's a good time for the coaches to get a little bit of a look at those guys before training camp. If those guys are in those spots during training camp and stay there, then you've got something. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow: As I said, it means shit. It's minicamp, not training camp. Let's see what goes down in late July and early August. Until then, all it is are more reps for the youngsters before the real thing starts, and not much more. It's a good time for the coaches to get a little bit of a look at those guys before training camp. If those guys are in those spots during training camp and stay there, then you've got something.
You’re absolutely wrong that it doesn’t mean anything, but I’m not going to continue arguing about it, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
You’re absolutely wrong that it doesn’t mean anything, but I’m not going to continue arguing about it, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Anyone who is trying to deny a 2nd round center isn’t going to be an opening day starter over Austin Blythe should be brushed aside quicker than chalk dust.
You don’t take the top rated center in the entire draft in the second round to let him sit and “learn” from a league minimum journeyman. Creed Humphrey is your center for the next ten years. The end. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
As I said, it means shit. It's minicamp, not training camp. Let's see what goes down in late July and early August. Until then, all it is are more reps for the youngsters before the real thing starts, and not much more. It's a good time for the coaches to get a little bit of a look at those guys before training camp. If those guys are in those spots during training camp and stay there, then you've got something.
This is such a poor take I'm assuming you know Blythe or his family personally since he is from the area. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wisconsin_Chief:
Anyone who is trying to deny a 2nd round center isn’t going to be an opening day starter over Austin Blythe should be brushed aside quicker than chalk dust.
You don’t take the top rated center in the entire draft in the second round to let him sit and “learn” from a league minimum journeyman. Creed Humphrey is your center for the next ten years. The end.
Maybe this has been discussed, but Creed is a lefty. He said he can snap with the right hand if Mahomes wants it that way though.
Mahomes said he didn't care. I think he will just be happy not having the Center's ass in his face as soon as he gets the ball.
Nothing against Reiter, he played up to the best of his abilities- but he struggled with the bull rush leaving Mahomes no pocket to step into. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
As I said, it means shit. It's minicamp, not training camp. Let's see what goes down in late July and early August. Until then, all it is are more reps for the youngsters before the real thing starts, and not much more. It's a good time for the coaches to get a little bit of a look at those guys before training camp. If those guys are in those spots during training camp and stay there, then you've got something.
Willie Gay talked about missing the OTA's last season and how it put all the rookies behind. He said this year has been an amazing learning experience.
It has to have helped Creed and Trey a lot to be running with the starters. I don't think Andy did it by accident. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy:
This is such a poor take I'm assuming you know Blythe or his family personally since he is from the area.
No, some of us don't act like it's our first rodeo though.
Blythe has been a starter at RG and C in this league for 3 consecutive years. That is he started 47 of 47 games. The only one he didn't play or start in was a giveaway game in 2019. The Chiefs didn't sign him "just because." He's going to have a leg up as a starter come training camp, and if the rookies beat him they beat him. Right now though, you guys are reading into things a little too fucking hard. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
No, some of us don't act like it's our first rodeo though.
Blythe has been a starter at RG and C in this league for 3 consecutive years. That is he started 47 of 47 games. The only one he didn't play or start in was a giveaway game in 2019. The Chiefs didn't sign him "just because." He's going to have a leg up as a starter come training camp, and if the rookies beat him they beat him. Right now though, you guys are reading into things a little too ****ing hard.
:-) Yep, I think it was a very solid signing. Mahomes and Thuney have called out our pair of rookies as being "explosive" and "a Beast" so that builds the hype.
But, point well taken. We all want these guys to be dominant to protect #15. If we have to wait awhile and then they both secure spots for seasons to come, it will still be worth it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
No, some of us don't act like it's our first rodeo though.
Blythe has been a starter at RG and C in this league for 3 consecutive years. That is he started 47 of 47 games. The only one he didn't play or start in was a giveaway game in 2019. The Chiefs didn't sign him "just because." He's going to have a leg up as a starter come training camp, and if the rookies beat him they beat him. Right now though, you guys are reading into things a little too fucking hard.
Humphrey has now been the starter for 10 straight OTA practices.
It’s not “reading into things a little too hard” to suggest he’s likely your starter at C.
Blythe got backup money and has been referred to as “depth”. He didn’t even get first crack at RG. [Reply]
