Tennessee’s Trey Smith is one of the better offensive guards in the nation.
But there is the medical matter of having blood clots in his lungs that NFL teams are looking into before the NFL draft, which is set for April 29 through May 1 in Cleveland.
Smith, who’s the third rated interior lineman in the draft by NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, missed five games of the 2018 season after a diagnosis of blood clots in his lungs. He returned to play most of 2019 while following a special medical plan, which allowed for only two full-contact practices.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Smith started all 10 games at left guard and was named a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC guard.
“I don’t have any concerns,” Smith said Wednesday. “Teams that will do their due diligence will understand what I have is a prior condition. Not only that, the plan that we sustained this past season not only saw that we can do it in the NFL, but that I’ll have immediate success.”
Smith, 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, played mostly left guard for the Volunteers.
The Falcons have released two of the three players who started at left guard last season. James Carpenter was the preferred starter. Carpenter’s replacement was Justin McCray and he was not re-signed. The Falcons tried to spot-play Matt Hennessy at left guard last season as rookie and even used tackle Matt Gono at left guard against Kansas City.
Hennessy likely will take over for center Alex Mack, leaving an open competition at left guard.
Smith, of Jackson, Tenn., was ranked as one of the top 10 players in the nation coming out of high school. He was second-team All-SEC as a freshmen, a freshman All-American and SEC all-freshman in his first season. He started 12 games (eight at right guard, four at left tackle).
He was a dominating blocker at times over his career. He played 664 snaps and gave up only one sack last season.
But there is the matter of the blood clots.
“The main thing is once the teams do their due diligence and talk to my doctor and my specialists that I went across the country to go see, they can sort of see the plan that we have set,” Smith said. “I have a lot more confidence in it, as well. It’s something that we haven’t been completely open about in the past due to my own privacy.”
But for NFL teams willing to possibly spend millions of dollars, Smith now is an open book.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s a plan that will not only sustain itself in the NFL, but have a lot of success as well,” Smith said.
Players have medical issues annually entering the draft. Smith would have been checked out by NFL doctors at the scouting combine.
“Hopefully, it will be a way to pioneer ground for the people with my same issues, that have blood-clotting issues and things of that nature,” Smith said. “Then you look at people like (Patriots center) David Andrews and (NFL tackle) Russell Okung, they’ve been playing and have had very similar issues that I’ve had. We’re talking about very high-level offensive linemen as well.”
Smith doesn’t mind explaining his plight on video calls with teams.
“It’s more so just telling people what my situation is, how we solved the issue and what it is going forward,” Smith said. “I have no problems with explaining it. I can explain it a million times if I have to. It’s something unique.”
Smith is projected to go late in the first round or early in the second round. The Falcons currently hold the 35th pick in the draft, which is the third pick of the second round. Smith would solve the left guard problem.
“I want to play football at a high level,” Smith said. “I want to go to the NFL, so I have no issue whatsoever helping people understand what I went through and making them comfortable as well.”
Smith said teams have asked him to show some discretion and not reveal which teams have interviewed him. Since the Senior Bowl, he’s been working on his body, balance, control and making sure that he’s not overly aggressive.
“There have been a lot of teams talking about multiple positions and whether I like playing on the left or the right side,” Smith said. “Tackle or guard. Quite frankly, I can pretty much play either.”
Smith spent most of pre-draft time working out at Michael Johnson Performance in Dallas.
“For me, I’m a tone-setter,” Smith said. “I’m not taking (stuff) from anybody. At the end of the day, you’re not going to have one issue from me off the field. I’m going to do whatever I need to do.”
Smith has sensed that things will all work out.
“As a kid, all I dreamed about was playing football in the NFL,” Smith said. “It’s going to be my Job. I’m going to take it seriously.”
Falcons’ 2021 draft position: Here are the top nine picks in D. Led’s Mock Draft 3.0:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson)
2. New York Jets: Zach Wilson, (QB, BYU)
3. Miami Dolphins: Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU)
4. Denver Broncos (trade with Falcons): Trey Lance (QB, North Dakota State)
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell (OT, Oregon)
6. Philadelphia Eagles: DeVonta Smith (WR, Alabama)
7. Detroit Lions: Jaylen Waddle (WR, Alabama)
8. Carolina Panthers: Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State)
9. Falcons (trade with Denver): Micah Parsons, (OLB, Penn State)
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