NFL Career
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2¾ in | 267 lb | 4.60 s | 4.05 s | 7.42 s | 38½ in | 9 ft 9 in | 30 reps | 23 | |||||||||||
430-pound bench press. 585-pound squat. 325-pound power clean.
Smith was selected as the 18th pick in the 1st round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He had a successful rookie season with 30 tackles and 7.5 sacks. In 2005 he had 48 tackles and 8.5 sacks and played well enough that the Saints did not re-sign Darren Howard thus making Smith the starter opposite Charles Grant for the 2006 season. Smith is gradually establishing himself as one of the premier defensive ends in the NFL.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Smith became a leader of the defensive line and emerged as one of the NFL’s top defensive ends. He was voted to the Pro Bowl and finished tied for 14th in the NFL with a career-best 10.5 sacks. Smith played in 14 games, sitting out the finale with the Saints having clinched a playoff berth and also missing one contest with a knee injury. The club’s No. 1 pick in 2004 has been a force since his arrival in New Orleans, notching 33.5 sacks in four seasons. His 26.0 sacks in his first three season is the second-most in club history in so short a span (Charles Grant, 27.5, 2002–04). Smith brings energy, toughness and a hard-nosed approach to each game, setting the tone for the entire defensive front, and he’s equally strong against the run. In his brief career, he has played in 62 games and posted 215 tackles (156 solo) and 13 forced fumbles.
In 2006, he was named to his first Pro Bowl as a starter.
Read more about this topic: Will Smith (American Football)
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“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)