Chau Smith-Wade, CB Washington State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Smith-Wade was a three-star recruit from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, Ill. in the class of 2020

Washington State cornerback Chau Smith-Wade intercepted two passes in the Senior Bowl. Let’s take an in-depth look at his prospect profile and where he falls in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Chau Smith-Wade, CB Washington State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fourth-year junior outside cornerback from Denver, Colo.

Background: Smith-Wade was a three-star recruit from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, Ill. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 1,301 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,148 for On3.com. Smith-Wade was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 72 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Wyoming before flipping to Washington State. As a high school senior, Smith-Wade earned First Team All-Public League honors from the Chicago Sun-Times as a running back. He was an All-State honorable mention for The News-Gazette as a defensive back. In the Public League Championship Game, he carried the ball 22 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns as his team took home the win.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2022-23 LA Bowl with an injury, missed Arizona State and Stanford games in 2023 with an undisclosed soft-tissue injury, missed 2023 Cal game after colliding with a teammate in practice, missed 2023 Colorado and Washington games

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12

Pros: Special teams snaps on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, committed zero penalties in 2023, above-average athlete, appears to have NFL-caliber arm length, arm length shows up on jams, looks like he’ll test fast, good recovery speed, closing burst, speed to carry routes vertically, sorts through and passes off threats in zone, arm length makes an impact at the catch point, great range in run defense from single-high role, wrap-up tackler

Cons: Committed six penalties in 2022, lean frame, jams can be weak and ineffective, inconsistent mirroring release at the LOS, Troy Franklin shook him on an inside release (2023) and crossed his face, too quick to declare hips, slight tug when trying to flip hips, couldn’t match Troy Franklin’s acceleration and explosiveness in soft-shoe press (2023), gives up inside leverage and gets stacked, stacked more often than he should be with his speed, receivers cross his face mid-route, bumped off coverages by larger receivers, room to improve footwork at the top of the stem, allows too much separation at the top of the stem, needs to anticipate throws more often, gets grabby and loses his man on extended plays, grabby on vertical routes, dropped potential interceptions, not a consistent contributor vs. the run, stuck on stalk blocks, lacks the mass to challenge blocking tight ends, missed tackles, dives low instead of driving through tackles, dives low as a tackler and some RBs bounce off him, takes steep angles in pursuit

Overview: Smith-Wade has special teams snaps on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He primarily aligned in soft-shoe press and zone coverages to both the field and boundary for Washington State. The fourth-year junior also received occasional snaps as a single-high safety. He is an above-average athlete with NFL-caliber arm length and a lean frame. Smith-Wade’s arm length pops on jams in press coverage, but his jams can be weak and ineffective. Despite his athleticism, Smith-Wade struggles to mirror releases at the line of scrimmage. He really struggled when matched up against Oregon’s Troy Franklin (2023), getting beaten across his face on inside releases and lacking the acceleration and explosiveness to carry the star receiver vertically out of soft-shoe press. Smith-Wade is too quick to declare his hips in press coverage and experiences a slight tug when trying to flip them. He looks like he’ll test fast and displays good recovery speed and closing burst. Despite having the speed to carry receivers vertically, the Colorado native gets stacked frequently. He surrenders inside leverage too easily and lets receivers cross his face mid-route. Larger receivers bump Smith-Wade off his coverage path. The former All-Pac-12 honorable mention needs to improve his footwork at the top of the stem. He allows too much separation at the stem’s peak. Smith-Wade doesn’t anticipate throws often enough, which further complicates the amount of separation he allows. He gets grabby on extended plays and vertical routes. Smith-Wade is better in zone coverage, where he sorts through and pass off routes. His arm length helps make an impact at the catch point, but he drops potential interceptions. The former three-star recruit is not a consistent contributor against the run. He gets stuck on stalk blocks and lacks the mass to challenge blocking tight ends. Smith-Wade wraps up as a tackler, but he prefers to dive low instead of driving through ball carriers. Because of this approach, missed tackles are a constant part of his game. He takes steep angles in pursuit, which leads to even more missed tackles. Smith-Wade showcases terrific range against the run when operating as a single-high safety.

Overall, Smith-Wade appears to have the athletic traits to be a meaningful NFL player, but his technique is raw and inconsistent. His size might necessitate a transition to the slot. Smith-Wade projects best in a zone-heavy scheme early in his career since his press and man coverage skills are underdeveloped.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner or transition to nickel in a zone-heavy scheme

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Early Sixth

Size: 5'11", 176 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 01-18-24