Tykee Smith scouting report: Exploring the Georgia safety's strengths and weaknesses

Just a three-star recruit for West Virginia in 2019, over his two years with the Mountaineers, Tykee Smith amassed 111 tackles (69 solo), with 10.5 for loss, four interceptions (only taken to the house) and nine additional passes broken up.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Tykee Smith decided to transfer to Georgia, where he unfortunately was lost for the year already in the opener, with a torn ACL. You could tell that he wasn’t himself and received limited playing time the following season, but bounced back in a big way in 2023 – 70 total tackles, 8.5 for loss, two sacks, four interceptions and two PBUs – when he was named second-team All-SEC.

Profile: 5-foot-10, 200 pounds; RS SR.

Breaking down Tykee Smith's scouting report

Run defense & blitzing:

Very downhill-oriented safety against the run game
The closing burst to erase angles out to the sideline for running backs pops off the screen
Shows the physicality to shove receivers to the side as a big nickel and create the initial wrap on the ball-carrier
You also saw the attitude when he yanks guys to the turf every once in a while, regardless if the play is already being stopped
Has the strong upper body to press off tight-ends and set a firm edge in vs. the run as a box defender
This guy’s like a blur when he shoots down and blows up screen passes
Tykee Smith was blitzed off the edge quite a bit by the Mountaineers especially, where he showed tremendous pursuit and ability to flatten down the line, when the play went away from him

Zone coverage:

Doesn’t show a lot of wasted movements as route patterns develop around him and he’s deciphering through them
At WVU, against trips you saw Tykee Smith line up shaded to the outside of the number two receiver primarily, to take away quick hitters into the flats, but then also carry routes vertically
Can flip his hips in smooth fashion, when he has to open initially and then mirror sharp breaks
Shows pretty good feel for targets coming in behind him and when to turn, in order to affect the catch-point
Typically stays home for crossers when the offense clears out on the outside and wants to attack that voided that space
Tracks the ball very well over either shoulder down the field
When he can’t actually make a play on it himself, you see Tykee Smith lay the wood on guys at the sideline and jar the ball loose to great effect

Man coverage:

Transitioned into being more of a traditional overhang and slot corner this past season with the Bulldogs, where his size makes him an attractive target for teams that want to base out of big nickel more regularly
His length allows him to sustain contact with receivers from trail position, to widen their path feel the break coming
You don’t see receivers gain ground on him on deep crossers typically, at times actually catching up to them as the play-clock is running
Presents an appealing body-type as a potential matchup player against tight-ends
Recognizes opportunities to peak back at the quarterback momentarily, yet still play through the hands of the intended target
Can really drop his pads and make his presence felt when the ball is thrown underneath him
The man-coverage numbers from PFF are just bonkers – 5-of-17 for 31 yards and one TD vs. two passes picked off and broken up each

Weaknesses:

Doesn’t always take the greatest care of his contain responsibility, where running backs can give him a little dip inside and win the corner against him
Doesn’t show overly impressive click-and-close ability out of his pedal and you saw that against skilled route-runners during the Senior Bowl, when he had no help, stopping his feet momentarily and therefore being a step late to redirect
Can get caught leaning too much and lose contact late in the rep as his man adjusts or transitions into a secondary route
Has to wrap up more consistently as a tackler in the open field – missed 14.7% of attempted tackles during his time in the SEC
Got injured in the 2021 season-opener with Georgia and then was relegated to more of a potential piece in the secondary the following year, before finally earning an extensive role with the Bulldogs this past season

Tykee Smith's 2024 NFL Draft prospect

For anybody defensive back playing inside for Georgia, you have to take the coverage numbers and generally what they do with a slight grain of salt because of how well-coordinated they are on the back-end, as there may be a safety barreling if they break towards the middle of the field and it’s not a true two-/three-way go that needs to be defended individually.

With that being said, Tykee Smith – quietly – had an incredible 2023 season, after he had been sort of out of sight since he transferred over from West Virginia two years prior.

Since it’s been so long since we’ve last seen play deep in a starting capacity, it’s kind of tough to look at him as anything but a slot defender right now, but what he allows you to be in “big nickel” on paper, where that guy can be a tremendous run defender yet you don’t really lose anything from a coverage perspective, is highly valuable.

Tykee Smith can be a chess piece to match up against tight-ends, but he’s equally useful roaming around and making plays on targets in his vicinity. I do feel compelled to say that he didn’t look as comfortable during Senior Bowl week, where he didn’t have help inside or over the top during those one-on-ones, but this is a day-one starter at nickel, as long as you don’t ask him to guard someone like Ceedee Lamb 20+ times a game.

Grade: Late third/Early fourth round