teo123The Dallas Cowboys clearly refused to hedge their bets at nose tackle ahead of the 2025 NFL season. It never seemed they even considered it.
Thus, under a week away from training camp, former first-round pick Mazi Smith will arrive at Oxnard, California as one of the players facing the most pressure on the team.
And according to former Cowboys player and coach Greg Ellis—who was part of Mike McCarthy’s staff in 2023 as assistant defensive line coach—Smith faces a daunting challenge.
Greg Ellis reveals concerns for Mazi Smith ahead of 2025
In an interview with All City DLLS, Ellis shared his concerns on Smith and added the Cowboys “may need to just trade him” if he doesn’t fit with Matt Eberflus’ defense.
“The year before we got there, it was more vertical, get up the field, get up the field, get up the field, really not Mazi’s game, to be honest with you,” Ellis said. “I think he played better last year [in Zimmer’s scheme. . .] he kind of showed why did the Cowboys draft him, what they saw.”
Smith is known for being a very strong athlete but not really as a defensive lineman with an explosive first step or get off speed. Thus, an aggressive one-gap scheme in which he needs to win by being fast and explosive doesn’t benefit him as much as what Zimmer used in 2023, which was plenty of two-gap or gap-and-a-half looks.
In Zimmer’s scheme, Smith didn’t have to be as aggressive and instead could play the blocker and use his strength to control the man opposite of him instead of just being tasked with beating him to the gap. Under Eberflus, however, the Cowboys are expected to go back to a one-gap defense.
“Now we switching up again and from my understanding it’s again more vertical charge,” Ellis added. “But hopefully, they’ve factored something into the equation to allow Mazi’s superhero ability to flash. If not you may need to just trade him.”
Could Mazi Smith be traded?
Though I agree with Ellis’ concerns about Mazi playing in a one-gap defense once again, I’m not sure dealing the former first rounder away is an option.
Firstly, the Cowboys don’t have a proven alternative they can bank on at nose tackle. They drafted Jay Toia late in the NFL Draft but it would be a major risk to treat him as a starter this early in his career.
Then there’s the problem of compensation. Could Mazi Smith be worth enough in the trade market to make it worth it? Given there’s only two years left on his deal and little film to “pitch him” to other teams, chances are he wouldn’t net Dallas much more than a late-round draft pick.
I wouldn’t trade him at such a steep discount just in case Smith finally taps into his full potential.
For now, the priority in Dallas should be getting Smith into favorable spots where the Cowboys can capitalize on his freakish athleticism and strength.
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