CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Chris Smith will end up on a roster somewhere. If the numbers shake out right, it just might be in Cincinnati.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther discovered Smith a year ago. Smith was still on the Jaguars' roster at the team, and as Guenther watched Jaguars film in preparation for their preseason game, he was impressed.
"I was watching him in a game and I was like, ‘Man, who is this guy?,' Guenther recalled. "I was walking in from practice the week we played Jacksonville and I said, ‘Hey, did you watch that kid, their defensive end?’ ... And I was talking to (former Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth) who just happened to be walking in and he was like ‘Man this kid is really good.’"
Guenther said he went to Duke Tobin, the Bengals player personnel director, to tell him what he saw, hoping the Bengals could put in a claim for Smith if the Jaguars were to waive him. The Bengals weren't able to get him then, but they traded a conditional 2018 draft pick in the spring to get him.
"I said this is a guy we want to pick up," Guenther said. "He made the team and a year later we did a deal with him. So I’m excited to have him. He’s doing a good job for us."
Smith has spent the preseason reinforcing that initial impression. He made life fairly miserable for Chiefs second-string left tackle Donald Hawkins on Saturday, repeatedly breaking into the backfield to pressure quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He recorded a sack and ended the day with five hurries.
Smith's success has mostly come against backups, although he did get some snaps going against the Chiefs starting right tackle. Guenther said he wants to see Smith get a few snaps against Redskins starting left tackle Trent Williams.
"I told (him) after last week I am going to put him in there with the big boys and I thought he did a good job," Guenther said.
Guenther said he might also experiment with moving Smith inside for a few snaps to see how he rushes from that spot this week.
"We may have four edge rushers in there," Guenther said. "We may have (defensive tackle Geno Atkins) and Carl [Lawson] and (Smith) and (Carlos Dunlap) in there. That’s maybe something we would roll out this week and see if Chris can rush inside or we walk those guys around so the four best rushers are in the game."
Defensive end is one of the Bengals' deeper positions, so it'll be a fight between several players to make the final roster. Smith has done a lot of things right, but nothing is guaranteed at this point.
"It’s funny, because we were just the opposite a year ago, we had more base ends and not enough speed rushers," Guenther said. "Right now with Smith and Jordan Willis and Carl [Lawson] when he’s in there, we have that ...
"That’s something we have to figure out is the combination of guys there, that’s one of the big points."
