Trade of Davis opens return door for newly acquired Smith

The Green Bay Packers are deep at cornerback and had a proven returner in Trevor Davis, so why on Earth did general manager Brian Gutekunst claim Tremon Smith off waivers from Kansas City on Monday?

Now we know.

The Packers have traded Davis to the Oakland Raiders. According to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune, the Packers will get a sixth-round pick for Davis, a fifth-round pick in 2016 who is in his final year under contract.

Smith figures to step right into the kickoff-return role. Last year, as a sixth-round rookie with Kansas City, Smith averaged 26.8 yards per kickoff return. Of 28 players with more than 10 runbacks, that ranked sixth in the NFL.

Smith did not return punts for the Chiefs, though he did average 7.6 yards with one touchdown at Central Arkansas. That duty could fall on veteran cornerback Tramon Williams or rookie receiver Darrius Shepherd, who missed the first two games with a hamstring injury but averaged 9.2 yards on five punt returns in the preseason.

Smith mostly played special teams for the Chiefs last season, though he did start one game on defense. To get the ball in his hands more often, the Chiefs moved him to running back and receiver in training camp but he was back to defense for the start of the regular season. He’s at cornerback for the Packers – though it’s clear now that special teams was why Gutekunst made the move on Monday.

What’s the key to returning kicks?

“Trusting your teammates and hitting it full speed and trusting that they’re going to have their blocks,” Smith said. “It’s hitting it full speed and running as fast as possible, and you can’t be scared, either. You can’t run scared; that’s when you get hit hard.”

“It’s scary but you can’t be scared,” he added. “My first few, I wasn’t scared but I was nervous. I was like, ‘These are grown men trying to come knock my head off every play.’”

Smith was a sixth-round out of Central Arkansas last year. He initially was headed to Auburn but was a late academic qualifier. By the time Smith qualified, the Tigers and the rest of the Power 5 conference schools had moved on. His lone FBS offer was Middle Tennessee State but he decided to go to Central Arkansas because the school’s defensive coordinator was from his hometown.

The NFL was a dream for Smith; having to go to a smaller school wouldn’t take him off his path.

“I wouldn’t say it was a setback,” he said. “I knew I had to work harder. You can make one play in a big game but you have to make 10 plays in a D-I-AA game.”

With 4.32 speed in the 40, Smith is an elite athlete – which is why Chiefs coach Andy Reid moved him to offense for the summer in an effort to get his playmaking ability on the field.

“I feel like I can play any position,” Smith said. “Of course, not offensive line or defensive line. I’d have to eat a lot.”

As for Davis, he was one of the NFL’s top punt returners in 2017 with a 12.0-yard average and perfect ball security but mediocre on kickoff returns with a 22.8-yard average. He missed almost all of last season with hamstring injuries but made the roster this year on the strength of a huge preseason game in Winnipeg against the Raiders in which he caught five passes for 78 yards and one touchdown and added a 17-yard punt return and 18-yard rush.