When Kansas City used a sixth-round draft pick to get Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith, it was said by several draft experts that he was a rare breed that thrived in the violent nature of his position.
When speaking with reporters on Saturday, the 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pound Smith confirmed he’s far from being a gentle giant.
“It’s just why I play the game, I mean, I love beating people up, man,” Smith told reporters on Saturday. “I love just knocking someone down and rolling over them and just talking, getting in their head after the play is over with. It’s just sort of my personality. If you know me, I’m sort of a goon. But I just really enjoy the violent aspect of playing football.”
This kind of mentality is an aspect that the Chiefs have lacked on the offensive line for a while. In fact, you’d probably have to go back to the teams of the early 2000s, if not the 1990s to find a Chiefs o-line that played with the same type of smashmouth attitude.
Up to this point, Smith has participated in no-contact, padless practices. Far from the violent side of the game that he prefers. While he can’t wait to get back to doing what he loves, Smith understands that the time spent without pads is still valuable when it comes to fine-tuning his game.
“Honestly, everything needs to be reinforced,” Smith explained. “I’m always chasing perfection. It’s just something you can’t obtain being human beings. The little nuances, that’s something I can take better care of in my game, paying attention to detail, not being too overaggressive with a lot of things I do, just being official in my play. Like I said, we’re always chasing perfection, but we’ve got to do it every day and it’s unobtainable. There’s so much I have to work on my game. I’m not even close.”
Smith’s violent nature definitely puts in the running to earn a starting role on the Chiefs’ o-line. However, nothing’s set in stone and he understands that it’s up to him to prove to the coaches and his teammates that his smash-mouth style of play is an asset that belongs on the field.
“It’s a high-octane offense,” Smith said. “It’s truly a blessing to be here with the Chiefs organization. I’m playing with guys I looked up to as a kid like Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, those types of guys around me. I’m excited about the opportunity to be here, and I’m really blessed they decided to use a pick on me.”
Like teammate Creed Humphrey, Smith also attended the OL Masterminds summit, an event run by Duke Manyweather, who is considered to be one of the nation’s best independent offensive line coaches.
“It’s always a great experience,” said Smith. “It’s about my second year — I would have gone last year [except] for COVID. Every time you come out of there, you learn a different thing to add to your toolbox. It’s an excellent event; Duke’s been doing it for a lot of years. I really enjoyed it. Creed and I got a lot out of it.”
Smith also had the chance to catch up with former Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who advised him to bring a bed pad and comforter to St. Joe as well as a few other tips.
“I actually had a chance to speak with him briefly and just asking for some tips about training camp,” said Smith. “It was awesome finally getting to meet him.”
