National Football League

Cowboys reinforce defense by drafting Michigan DT Mazi Smith

Published Apr. 28, 2023 12:44 a.m. ET

Understanding the Cowboys' decision to draft Mazi Smith in late April is as easy as rewinding to mid-October.

Two days after an Oct. 23 win against Detroit, they traded for veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. It wasn't exactly an earth-shattering move, but it was a calculated attempt to shore up a run defense that was allowing 120 yards per game.

Hankins helped enough that he has re-signed in Dallas on a one-year deal. Clearly, his presence wasn't enough to satisfy this front office's concerns about a defense that finished 22nd in the league against the run.

Enter Smith, who joins the Cowboys' defense with one obvious assignment.

"My first job is to be an elite run defender," Smith said himself after being selected.

Of course, there will me more to add to his repertoire. Smith stands 6-foot-3, weighs 323 pounds and possesses terrifying athleticism. He was ranked first on Bruce Feldman's 2022 College Football Freak's List, and he can do stuff like this.

It'd be a mistake to write off his pass-rush ability.

Still, it's easy to guess at the early vision. One could make the case that Smith is immediately this team's best run defender, as the options other than Hankins are lackluster at best. Not only can Smith clog up run lanes, but he can keep blockers off the Cowboys' linebacker corps. If that's not intriguing enough, the presence of such a big, physical body on their interior should create more favorable matchups for Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

"I'm going to help you get sacks, you're going to help me get sacks," Parsons said on Thursday night.

Based on past experience, it feels like a move that head coach Mike McCarthy pitched heavily in the Cowboys' war room. For two years now, McCarthy has stressed the need to get bigger and stronger to overcome the likes of Philadelphia and San Francisco — the NFC's physical juggernauts.

They've spent less valuable picks on the position, but that's produced middling results. Hankins has helped, but he is 31 and playing on just a one-year deal. Smith is a big swing to potentially fix the issue for the foreseeable future.

It's a surprising swing, given their history. Russell Maryland, drafted No. 1 overall way back in 1991, was the last defensive tackle drafted by this team in the first round. It'll likely draw criticism, given some of the other options on the board.

The team's interest in tight ends was so widely known that the Buffalo Bills may or may not have traded in front of them to draft Dalton Kincaid.

"We felt confident that if we didn't move up, we weren't going to get him," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said after the first round.

And then there's the duo of Georgia's Nolan Smith and Penn State's Joey Porter Jr. – both of whom were still available.

Frankly, the Cowboys remind us annually that they decide positional value. And to be fair to them, they've backed that attitude up with a lot of successful selections. As team owner and general manager Jerry Jones so eloquently stated when asked whether Smith was ranked 13th or 14th on their draft board: "Who gives a s***? We got him."

If the pick itself didn't send the message, that might. The Cowboys' aim was to get bigger and more physical. Message received.

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.