Jimmy Smith was the Ravens first round draft pick in 2011 where he was taken with the 27th overall selection. One might remember that there was a bit of drama surrounding his selection as the Ravens had initially tried trading back, had the trade fall through, and ended up drafting one position later because they were unable to get the selection in on time.

Smith was not an immediate starter as a rookie, although he did end up starting 3 games in his rookie season before he suffered an ankle injury that cost him the final 4 games of the year. He did show a lot of promise though including a highlight reel play in which he picked off Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game. He also had some bad moments as well, like a game in San Diego in which he was repeatedly exposed in coverage. In a lot of ways his rookie season was a microcosm of his entire career.

At his best, Jimmy Smith has been one of the top CBs in the league. In his prime he was often asked to take away the opponent’s best wide receiver, and he has performed admirably in that role. He may be best remembered for his coverage of Michael Crabtree on the 4th down Endzone fade that fell incomplete and sealed the Ravens Super Bowl Victory in 2012. However, he’s also been inconsistent throughout his career with a lot of ups and downs both on the field and off of it.

Unfortunately, injuries and suspension have marred Smith’s career in Baltimore. He has only been available for 107 of 144 regular season games. Still, the Ravens have stayed committed to Smith because of his upside when available to play. He was signed to a fairly size-able extension entering into his 5th season that he played on through 2019. There was a lot of speculation about whether or not the Ravens would part ways with Smith prior to the 2019 season, but they decided to keep him which ended up working out well for the team despite losing Smith to injury for 6 games. After Smith returned, he was a big part of why the Ravens maintained a top defense in 2019.

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Heading into 2020, the Ravens were able to re-sign Smith for a 1-year deal to provide important depth and continuity to perhaps the best secondary in the NFL. He is now one of the longest tenured Ravens players, with only Morgan Cox and Sam Koch having longer careers with the team.

It will be interesting to see how the Ravens utilize Smith in 2020. He has played the vast majority of his snaps at outside CB throughout his career, including 2019 as he stayed outside while Marlon Humphrey moved into the slot in nickel and dime packages.

The Ravens secondary will look very similar to how it looked last season with the one major change being the loss of veteran DB Brandon Carr while slot CB Tavon Young is expected to return from a neck injury that cost him the entire 2019 season. Before 2019, Brandon Carr had predominantly played outside CB, but he moved into the slot or to safety depending on where the Ravens needed him as the secondary ebbed and flowed.

There has been some speculation that Smith may shift from CB to playing some snaps at safety similar to how Carr transitioned this past season. Smith even discussed a potential role change in a recent interview where he hypothesized that he could be used to match up against TEs, a job that is traditionally handled by safeties or linebackers. Smith has good size for a CB and has always been a physical player which suggests that this could certainly happen in some situations. However, I still think Smith would be used most effectively as an outside CB, especially in a press-man role.

Smith could be used as a safety in certain coverage situations and packages, but I also envision a scenario in which Tavon Young could be used as more of a move-able chess piece in the secondary in which he can float between slot CB and the different safety positions. This would allow Smith to stay at outside CB in dime packages with Marcus Peters while Marlon Humphrey plays in the slot where he acquitted himself well in 2019. Regardless of how Smith is utilized in 2020, his presence adds much needed depth at CB while also retaining some veteran leadership.

The 2011 NFL draft may be remembered as the best draft of the past 20 years with players like JJ Watt, Von Miller, Patrick Peterson, Cam Newton, Tryon Smith and Cameron Jordan all being drafted in the first round. From that entire draft in which 254 players were selected, only 15 including Jimmy Smith, are still playing for the team that drafted them.

It’s very possible that this will be Jimmy’s final season in Baltimore, and if that is the case it has been a very successful stint both for him and the for the team, despite the ups and downs. There aren’t many players that last 10 years in the NFL and even fewer that can claim 10 seasons playing on the same team at a very high level.

Gabe Ferguson
Gabe Ferguson

Ravens Analyst

Gabe is an avid fan of the NFL and Ravens football. He grew up in Westminster, MD, and attended college at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Biology. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and now works as a R&D Scientist developing Transplant Diagnostics assays. Gabe has appeared as a guest on 105.7 The Fan.

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