{"id":112127,"date":"2021-04-27T11:45:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=112127"},"modified":"2021-04-27T11:45:06","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:45:06","slug":"elerson-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/04\/27\/elerson-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 NFL Draft: Elerson Smith Player Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elerson Smith 2021 NFL Draft Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Position:<\/strong> Defensive End
\nHeight:<\/strong> 6\u2019 6 \u00bc\u201d
\nWeight:<\/strong> 250 lbs
\nSchool:<\/strong> University of Northern Iowa<\/p>\n

Pro Day Stats<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wingspan:<\/strong> 83\u201d
\nArm:<\/strong> 33 \u00bc\u201d
\nHands:<\/strong> 10 \u00bd\u201d<\/p>\n

More 2021 NFL Draft Profiles<\/a><\/p>\n

Elerson Smith 2021 NFL Draft Profile<\/h2>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

Pass rusher Elerson Smith<\/a> is a redshirt senior coming out of the University of Northern Iowa. He has been considered a dark horse prospect since completing his senior year. Through the NFL Draft process, Smith has shown his huge upside and potential, especially during the 2021 Senior Bowl.<\/p>\n

Back in high school, Smith was a physically imposing 6’6″ and 190-pound athlete. He was on the basketball team, wrestling team, participated in track and field and was an all-state tight end and defensive end for Minneapolis South High School. Ultimately, his size and athleticism found him showcasing his talent at Northern Iowa.<\/p>\n

The future Senior Bowl standout began his career as a redshirt. He took the year to work on increasing his weight in order to be able to compete against bigger linemen. Smith saw his first snaps in 2018, quickly earning a role as a starter. His first season resulted in 19 tackles (10.5 for a loss), seven and a half sacks, two deflections, and a forced fumble in just 13 games.<\/p>\n

Smith’s 2019 season was even better, as he secured 63 tackles (21.5 for a loss), 14.0 sacks, five forced fumbles, four pass breakups, and two blocked kicks. The Panthers’ standout edge rusher elected to stay for the 2020 season. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a season was never played, sidelining Smith indefinitely. When the FCS reinstituted their football season, Smith had already declared for the NFL Draft and had opted out of the spring season.<\/p>\n

Strengths<\/h3>\n