Minnesota Gophers defensive back Terell Smith stated that the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the teams he had a formal meeting with at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, he told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo Monday morning.
Smith had formal meetings with the Steelers, Dolphins, Jaguars, Commanders, and 49ers, and informal meetings with the other 27 teams in Indianapolis, he said in his interview with Melo.
According to the Steelers Depot combine meeting tracker, the Steelers had meetings with 19 cornerbacks and safety, including Smith.
Smith had a pretty strong Combine, which has built on a terrific pre-draft process for the former Gophers standout. In Indianapolis, Smith measured in at 6004, 204 pounds with 32 7/8-inch arms and 9-inch hands. He clocked a 4.41 40-yard dash, added a 34-inch vertical, a 10’1″ broad jump and clocked a 4.30 short shuttle and a 7.02 3-cone.
In his Minnesota career, Smith recorded 109 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four interceptions and 16 passes defensed.
Smith’s size allowed him to make plays in the box as he gained experience, seeing increased usage as a blitzer from his boundary cornerback position. In a modern NFL landscape that continues to grow and become more positionless, Smith’s size, physicality, and position versatility should help him thrive in a sub-package role at the next level.
The size and position versatility is rather intriguing with Smith, who can handle the boundary cornerback role, or could slide inside in sub-package situations and serve as a box defender that can take away tight ends in the passing game. The Steelers have shown some interest in big, versatile defensive backs in the pre-draft process with the likes of Smith, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Ji’Ayir Brown, Florida State’s Jammie Robinson, Alabama’s Brian Branch and Florida’s Trey Dean III.
Here’s what Steelers Depot’s own Tom Mead had to say about Smith in his draft profile of the former Minnesota standout:
“Smith is capable of playing in a man or zone scheme. He is best suited to play outside but could play in the slot if needed. He closes quickly on the underneath throws, has good route awareness and has the long speed to hang with any receiver. Areas to improve include making more plays on deep throws, quickening his change of direction and improving his technique getting off blocks. He did give up three catches downfield (2 vs Penn State, 1 vs Nebraska) but in each of those the receiver had to make impressive catches.”
We’ll see if the Steelers follow up with Smith in a pre-draft visit, or if it was just a one-off with the Combine interview. There’s clear interest though, and something to monitor moving forward. Smith is gaining a lot of recognition since the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas and the Scouting Combine due to his size, versatility and overall athleticism.
He’s a name worth keeping an eye on.
