DALLAS — Sacks have become the most defining way for fans to evaluate defensive line play.
It is no coincidence that the top-10 in career sacks features Hall-of-Famers. And those sack masters who aren't yet inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio soon will be.
However, bringing down the quarterback doesn't tell the whole story for a defender on the defensive line, and this will especially be true of new Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
The No. 26 overall pick amassed just a half-sack through his 30 career games at Michigan. It therefore doesn't exactly seem as if Smith was worth the first-round pick if he has trouble getting to the quarterback.
Greg Cosell, who was at NFL Films for 43 years and is an executive producer and analyst on ESPN's NFL Matchup, explained in a podcast with the Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar just how immaterial sacks are to evaluating Smith.
"Production for interior defensive linemen is an odd thing," Cosell said. "Obviously, if you don't have a lot of sacks, people may view that as not a lot of production. But not a lot of interior defensive linemen have a lot of sack totals."
What Cosell noted about Smith, who measured 6’-3” and weighed 323 pounds at the NFL combine, is his arm length and athleticism as a defensive tackle.
"I mean, he played like an athlete," said Cosell. "He's quick and fluid, yet he was big and stout enough to dominate physically, with strength to control and displace. But when you watch the tape, he was a very good pass-rusher. He just didn't get sacks."
Looking at the top-10 list for career sacks, there is just one interior player in John Randle, tied for 10th place with 137.5 career sacks. Edge players generate the sacks, and Dallas has one of the best over the past two seasons in Micah Parsons with 26.5 in his first two seasons.
What the Cowboys need is for Smith to help stop the run.
“You look at our pass rush — we feel we have an elite pass rush group," coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after Day 1 of the 2023 NFL draft on April 27. "Just the fact of the matter, when your run defense improves, obviously you have some longer downs and distances which tilts the field to our pass rush.”
As long as Smith is helping stop the run, and the edge defense is getting home against opposing quarterbacks, even the most casual fan will know by that point that Smith's sack totals aren't that consequential.
Do you think Round 1 pick Mazi Smith will thrive along the Dallas defensive line? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
