NFL Draft picks 2015: Za’Darius Smith taken by Ravens

With the No. 122 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens have selected defensive end Za’Darius Smith out of Kentucky. The former Wildcat flirted with the idea of entering the draft as a junior after finishing third on the team in tackles (59) and second in sacks (6.0). He decided to return to campus and put up similar numbers as a senior in 2014 (61 tackles, 4.5 sacks).

A basketball player growing up in Alabama, Smith didn’t join the football team until his senior year in high school. He spent two seasons at East Mississippi Community College before transferring to Kentucky for the 2013 season. Smith upped his stock with an impressive performance at the East-West Shrine game, earning defensive MVP honors and praise by one draft analyst as the game’s “most disruptive defender.“

Although Smith did not open any eyes with his numbers from the combine testing (4.83 40-yard dash, 23 reps on bench press, 29-inch vertical, 113-inch broad jump), he shaved more than a tenth off his forty time at his pro day, clocking in at 4.75 and 4.78 seconds. He also looked good in both linebacker and defensive end drills, though his best NFL position is probably as a pass rusher in a 4-3 scheme.

The 6’4, 274-pound prospect has the ideal frame, quickness and strength be an edge rusher at the next level. Smith is known as a max-effort, high-motor player who will fight and battle at the point of attack and is willing to do the dirty work for a defense. However he’s still relatively new to the game and learning the details of the position, so he needs to hone his pass rush moves and improve his overall field awareness.