D'Ante

Smith

The report comes from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. This will be Smith’s third season-ending injury dating back to his time at East Carolina. Hopefully, the swing-tackle can return to a helpful backup role in 2025, though he is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of this season.

The injury occurred during a kickoff coverage drill in a joint practice with the Bears. The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. reports moments later, that Bengals backup T D’Ante Smith “went to the ground screaming in pain.” An air cast was applied to his left leg before the cart took him away. Both players were reportedly on the roster bubble and their seasons are now in jeopardy. Evans’ 90 rushing yards and 154 receiving yards from his 2021 rookie season remain his career-best single-season totals.

The Bengals continue to address their shoddy offensive line after drafting Clemson’s Jackson Carman in the second round. Smith was a four-year starter at ECU who was limited to one game last season due to an undisclosed injury. Smith drew raves at the Senior Bowl for his combination of quick feet and 85-inch wingspan. In Mobile, Smith appeared stronger at the point-of-attack than his tape professed. At ECU, Smith struggled to get push on power ends in the run game. He remains technically inconsistent in pass-pro, opening himself up to counters when he cheats with those long arms. He’ll join a Bengals offensive line graded by Pro Football Focus as the league’s sixth worst pass-blocking unit in 2020.

Smith (6'4/289) has only played in one game this year against UCF, were he played a total of 78 snaps. In 2019 he played 889 snaps receiving an overall PFF College grade of 71.0 to go with a pass blocking grade of 75.0 and a run block grade of 68.8. The redshirt senior moves decently well for a lineman of his size, but he’ll need to outperform expectations to actually hear his name called next April. Pro Football Focus grades indicate he needs an impressive set of Senior Bowl practices to be considered for a late-round draft selection.

Smith (6'4/336) plays left tackle at East Carolina, but some teams will likely be looking at him to kick inside. The senior moves decently well for a lineman of his size, but he’ll need to outperform expectations to actually hear his name called next April. Pro Football Focus grades indicate he’s nothing more than a UDFA prospect.

Pauline refers to the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Smith as “wide-bodied.” Of his five starts last season, four came at left tackle, one at left guard. He’s eligible to declare for the draft after the coming season, though his end fate will likely be that of an undrafted free agent should he declare, barring a breakthrough campaign upcoming.