Spoiler Brugler had 6th/7th round grade BACKGROUND: Jaylin "J-Roc" Smith, who has a twin sister (Jayda), grew up in Lancaster, Calif. (north of downtown Los Angeles), with his father (James) and mother (Simone Walker). In March 2013, Smith's mother died six days after being struck in a hit-and-run incident (the driver of the vehicle was never found). At age 6, Smith first suited up for football, playing for the pee wee Jets and then the Lancaster Colts. He joined the Snoop Youth Football League and played running back for Snoop's Diamond Valley Steelers (nicknamed the "Money Boyz"). Smith played up an age level and was profiled on the Netflix documentary series "Coach Snoop," which examined his emotional struggles (on and off the field) after his mother's death. (Snoop Dogg: "J-Roc is a different kind of kid. Definitely one of my favorites.") Smith was a member of the Steelers 14U 2016 national championship team. As part of Snoop Dogg's league, he had the opportunity to work with several NFL players, such as DeSean Jackson and Odell Beckham Jr. He later trained with Premium Sports with several other top recruits, including quarterback Bryce Young. Smith enrolled at Bishop Alemany High, a Catholic school in the San Fernando Valley (he lived about an hour away). After playing on the freshman team, he moved up to varsity as a sophomore and proved to be an immediate difference-maker in the secondary with 31 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles, adding a dozen catches and a kickoff return touchdown. As a junior, Smith led Bishop Alemany to a 10-3 record with 60 tackles and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), earning him all-state honors. On offense, he caught passes from quarterback Miller Moss (his close friend and future teammate at USC) and had two receiving touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and a kickoff return touchdown. His senior season was disrupted when Bishop Alemany postponed the fall 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A four-star recruit, Smith was the 20th-ranked athlete in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 28 recruit in California. Midway through his junior season, he picked up his first offer from nearby USC. After the 2019 season, Smith added offers from Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. The summer before his senior year, he officially committed to USC as a defensive back. Smith was the 13th-ranked recruit in former head coach Clay Helton's 2021 class (Moss ranked fifth). He opted out of USC's 2024 bowl game and accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl. STRENGTHS: ● Very good lateral quickness to match receivers in press ● Confident speed and redirect skills to hold up on an island ● Good look-and-lean technique and presses receivers to the sideline ● Trusts route anticipation to put him in position to make plays on the ball ● Gets hands inside frame of receivers to hitch a ride in trail ● Plays with dog mentality as a run defender and in coverage ● Good tempo to weave around pulling blocks and dismantle screens ● Stood out on punt coverages as a gunner and jammer ● Versatile experience across the secondary at corner, safety and nickel WEAKNESSES: ● Averaged-framed; lacks ideal mass and growth potential ● Better feistiness than play strength ● Only average burst when attempting to close out throws ● Inconsistent reacting to throws with his back to the ball ● Below-average ball production for a player with his experience ● Doesn't have length to compensate for poor technique in run support ● Leaves his feet prematurely, resulting in ankle-biting tackle attempts ● Staying healthy has been an issue: missed last two games as freshman after suffering concussion (Nov. 2021); missed final three games of 2022 season because of injury; missed one game as junior (Nov. 2023) and two more as senior (Sept. 2024) because of injuries SUMMARY: A three-year starter at USC, Smith moved from the nickel to outside cornerback in defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn's man/zone scheme. Compared to his 2023 tape, he made key improvements as a senior in both coverage and run support — he did not allow a touchdown catch in 2024 and set a career high with two interceptions. Although he is more quick than explosive, Smith has smooth movements in space to transition or ride the hip pocket with different types of route runners. He gets nose to nose with receivers in press and overlaps well from zone looks, but his ball instincts were lacking on tape (just eight passes defended over 32 career starts). Overall, Smith's lack of size will show in several ways against NFL competition, but he is an agile-footed, speedy corner with the compete skills to fight for an inside nickel role. He will need to prove he can stay healthy to stick on a roster.
Surly this is a "Jay" bird conspiracy. I mean, 2 Jaylin and a Jayden. Can't make this #$%@ up. Also, now 2 back field from same school and 2 WR too. Other than that, I don't know anything about anything so I am sure this Jaylin will become a good player. They are not really worried about the O Line. Not sure why BUT, starting rookies on OLine may not be the best way to fix things. And while there were #1 picks that may be able to do it, at 25, all the good ones were gone. No, J Simmons has injury issue and they just didn't want to take that chance.
All the outside noise says this was a reach but I won’t doubt Caserio and DeMeco’s DB evaluations. They have consistently crushed it. We’ll see where this goes but I like the idea of adding CB depth and yet another guy who can cover the slot to protect against injury.
That is a fun fact! My wife is a huge gymnastics fan, will love to bring her a connection to the Texans!
