Jaylin Smith, USC: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Smith was a four-star recruit from Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Calif. in the class of 2021
USC’s Jaylin Smith played outside in 2024, but he spent the previous two seasons starting in the slot for the Trojans. Smith battles some physical limitations and a growing history of injuries that drop his 2025 NFL Draft grade to the middle of Day 3.
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Jaylin Smith, CB USC: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Senior cornerback from Palmdale, Calif.
Background: Smith was a four-star recruit from Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Calif. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 323 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 223 for Rivals, and No. 250 for On3.com. Smith was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 78 grade out of 100. As a junior, he earned All-CIF Division 3 honors for generating 60 tackles with four for loss, two interceptions, including a pick-six, and ten receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns, 14 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns, and a kick return touchdown. As a sophomore, Smith totaled 31 tackles, a sack, three interceptions, three passes defensed, and two forced fumbles. He also caught 12 passes for 162 yards while returning a few kicks and punts.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed three games in 2022 due to injury, missed 2023 Oregon game after being injured the previous week, missed 2024 Utah State game with a right knee injury, missed 2024 Rutgers game
Awards: 2023 Holiday Bowl MVP, 2024 Third Team All-Big Ten
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, experience operating in the slot and out wide, patience to mirror receivers in press, mostly smooth hips, quick backpedal, quick to close on and smother inside releases, stays sticky on crossers, stays in-phase with window closing inside leverage on go routes out of soft-shoe press, some level of twitch to close ground and throwing lanes from off-man, good anticipation from off-man to break on posts, good closing burst in short areas, willing to come downhill, steps down to challenge screens, takes good angles in run defense, good hand placement when challenging blocks, two-handed swipe to knock blocking tight ends off balance, squares up on tackle attempts, impressive one-on-one open field tackler
Cons: Lacking ideal size, mass, and arm length, length impacts effectiveness of jams, inaccurate punches in press, in trouble when he misses his jams in press, gives up inside releases to twitchy receivers out of press, lacks high-end change of direction skills, struggled to mirror and close throwing lanes vs. Kaden Prather (2024), struggles to mirror and match gifted route runners, late to accelerate and match vertical routes from off-man, short strides are a disadvantage against taller receivers working vertically, lacks re-acceleration to stick with stutter-goes, top speed and acceleration appear to make him vulnerable downfield, hooks receivers at the top of the stem, physical receivers bump him around at the top of the stem, too much cushion in off-man, sometimes late to gather and drive from off-man on comebacks and curls, not getting head around for the ball leads to penalties, size limitations at the catch point, soft tackler
Overview: Smith enters the NFL with more than 450 career special teams snaps split across five units as well as starting experience on the perimeter and in the slot. He projects as a nickel at the next level because of his lack of size and mass and limited 30 1/4" arms. His length and inaccurate punches limit the effectiveness of his jams in press coverage. When patient, he displays the smooth hips, quick backpedal, and agility to mirror releases out of press coverage. Smith lacks high-end twitch, which sometimes results in twitchier athletes beating him cleanly on inside releases. Generally, he snaps to and stamps out inside releases to prevent quick completions. The senior remains sticky on crossing routes and stays in phase with inside leverage to take away fades out of press. He appears to lack elite change of direction skills, which causes him to struggle to mirror gifted route runners. Smith clocked the second-fastest speed at the Senior Bowl at 21.61 miles per hour, but his short strides and delayed acceleration lead to him being stacked downfield. He’s not the type of player who can afford to whiff on jams. He also struggles to re-accelerate for the second half of stutter-go routes. Smith’s top speed and acceleration might check boxes in environments like the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, but he’ll need to explain why receivers stressed him downfield as often as they did in 2024. His twitch shows up at the top of the stem in off-man as he mirrors the receiver’s movement intricately to eliminate intermediate throwing lanes. Smith’s short area closing burst helps him contest throws to routes breaking in front of him. He anticipates post routes well enough to establish window-closing leverage as soon as the receiver snaps off his stem. The All-Big Ten selection is guilty of hooking receivers at the top of the stem and sometimes getting pushed around by larger pass catchers. He allows a significant cushion, which creates plenty of space for comebacks and curls. Smith is feisty at the catch point but lacks a large catch radius. He’s late to get his head around and locate the football, leading to face-guarding. Smith is a willing downhill defender who challenges screens and takes nice angles in run defense. His hand placement and block shedding moves help him defeat stalk blocks. Smith squares up on tackle attempts and finished a large number of one-on-one attempts in 2024, but his lack of play strength prevents him from laying heavy hits.
Overall, Smith projects as a nickel defender at the NFL level who will contribute through his impressive work in run defense and efforts to take away short to intermediate routes over the middle of the field. He deals with some physical limitations that make him a poor fit for specific matchups in man coverage.
Role & Scheme Fit: Nickel in a Cover 3 heavy scheme
Round Grade: Late Fifth to Early Sixth Round
Size: 5'10 1/4", 182 lbs. (Senior Bowl)
Submitted: 11-26-24