'Where's Mazi Smith?' 'Dude is Special,' Dallas Cowboys Insist Amid Rookie Struggles
FRISCO - Patience is a virtue. Unless, that is, you are a fan of a Dallas Cowboys team that took great pains to fix the 2023 run defense but just got sand-blasted by an Arizona Cardinals ground game.
Part of what is not quite working right now is the investment in 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith, with the former Michigan standout defensive tackle have played just 40 snaps through three games. That doesn't mean Dallas made a mistake with its top pick in April, obviously.
But it does mean Cowboys Nation, worried about a vaunted defense that got pushed around in that 28-16 shocker in Week 3, can wish the process could somehow be hurried along a bit.
“I think Mazi is coming along great,” unworried teammate Micah Parsons said via his “The Edge” podcast this week. “I think mid-season, late in the season, we got a chance to see Mazi be dominant. I’m super-excited for him. I can’t wait to see that.”
Through three games, Smith has been in on three tackles, with one solo tackle. ... so "dominant'' wouldn't quite be the right word to describe his work as yet for the 2-1 Cowboys, who play host to Ezekiel Elliott and the 1-2 New England Patriots this Sunday.
Mazi Smith of the Cowboys
The Cowboys selected Smith with the 26th overall pick with a vision that he could immediately become a run-stopping force and eventually become even more than that, an interior power who can get upfield and rush the passer. But there is an understanding that that first "vision'' is the priority for the moment.
Said Cowboys COO Stephen Jones recently: “Everyone wants to see him rushing the passer but that’s not what we want. He’ll ultimately get better and better at it but you know what he does best is not necessarily sexy or jumps off the page.”
For now, the 6-3, 337-pound Smith - who is fond of saying how much he simply wants to "hit people in the mouth'' - remains behind veteran Johnathan Hankins on the depth chart. And Hankins is careful to point out that patience is appropriate here.
“It’s going to take him some time,” Hankins said. “He’s doing everything we asked. The dude is a special talent. Don’t get me wrong, once he gets his hands on guys it’s nothing they can do. He just has to continue to work and run to the ball and do the little small things we do out there on the field. He ain’t too far behind.”
