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Central Arkansas cornerback Tremon Smith is part of a big group of prospects visiting the Bengals in the final days leading up to the NFL Draft.
This, according to The Athletic’s Joe Goodberry:
Visiting the Bengals today is CB Tremon Smith from Central Arkansas.
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) April 18, 2018
Day 3 pick with potential. Fast, ball skills (15 INTs) return man, can cover the slot.
Goodberry also notes that Smith chose to visit the Bengals over other teams who also wanted to see him in action prior to the draft. Additionally, he has visited about 12 teams in total.
The Bengals haven’t reportedly hosted many cornerbacks for visits this draft season, but Smith could be a name to watch for Cincinnati on Day 3 of the draft.
In Lance Zierlein’s NFL.com draft profile for Smith, he writes the following about the 6’, 190 pound prospect from Anniston, Alabama:
Extremely confident and extremely greedy as an on-ball defender, Smith was asked to play the role of island defender and did so at a high level. While he faced a lower level of competition, he possesses the size, speed, athletic ability and instincts that should be able to translate to the league. Smith has the potential to fight for either an outside or slot role, but he’ll need to play with better discipline in order to avoid penalties and big plays.
An expected Day 3 pick, Smith could be someone the Bengals consider drafting with one of the team’s three fifth round selections. He was once thought of as a Round 7 pick, but after a great pro day and draft season, that’s no longer the case. Smith reportedly ran a 4.32 second 40-yard dash at his pro day and impressed in other key areas, too.
Smith is also a punt and kick returner in addition to his defensive duties. He recorded 38 punt returns in college, averaging 7.6 yards per punt. In 2017 he didn’t do any kick returns, but he did two in 2016 for a total of 27 yards.
His defensive stats are hard to come by (which is the case for many small school prospects) but Hero Sports had the following info on Smith. He had 41 tackles in 2017, 2.5 tackles for loss, 16 passes defensed and 5 interceptions (one for a touchdown). Cumulatively, he had 146 tackles, 53 passes defensed, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and 15 interceptions in four years at Central Arkansas.
Those interceptions are likely a big reason why the Bengals are looking at Smith as they are trying to add playmakers on defense who can force turnovers, an area in which the Bengals greatly struggled last season.
Look for Smith to be in play for the Bengals on Saturday of draft weekend.