Raiders report: Former All-American safety seeks expanded role
Many players would have found it difficult to go from first-team All-American in college to a very limited role as an NFL rookie.
But Raiders safety Chris Smith II had been through a similar adjustment before.
Smith went from mostly being a reserve at Georgia in his first two seasons to being one of the most valuable players on back-to-back national championship teams.
“Obviously the program we had, it’s tough to go in there and start as a freshman, so I had to wait my turn and put in a lot of work,” he said after Tuesday’s practice, hours after learning he had once again made the initial 53-man roster. “Plus, I had a lot of great vets to look up to there as well, like I do here. You always want to contribute, but I just come in and work hard every day and make sure I’m ready when my opportunity does come.”
The jump to the NFL wasn’t easy after he was drafted by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.
“A little bit surprising just in terms of the speed of the game and how much more efficient the NFL offenses are, and the quarterback play is super exceptional at this level,” he said.
Smith was inactive in five of his first eight games as a rookie and saw action in just one, getting 18 snaps on special teams against the Chargers.
He eventually became a core special teamer over the second half of the season, but saw action on defense in only one game.
It proved to be a memorable one.
Smith’s only defensive snaps of the year were the 22 he played in the 63-21 win over the Chargers.
“That was a crazy game,” he said. “It seemed like everything went right for us. We went out and performed to the best of our ability, and all the chips fell our way. It was a crazy experience. Definitely one of the top three games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Now the goal is to consistently mix into the defensive rotation as he works behind established starters Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig.
“It’s just improving mentally so I can play faster when I’m out there,” he said. “I felt like a little bit of last year that I just wasn’t as locked in mentally with the ins and outs of the game, studying the quarterbacks and the offenses and schemes. Of course it’s something I’ve always done, but I want to take that extra step this year to go out and play a little bit faster.”
Moehrig and Epps are helping in that process.
“They are super smart guys, and I take the opportunity every day to learn something from them,” he said. “Those are guys I look up to.”
Facyson returns
Cornerback Brandon Facyson was back on the practice field for the first time since early in the Costa Mesa, California, portion of training camp.
He has been dealing with an unspecified injury and hasn’t been able to practice a lot after missing much of last season, but still made the initial roster.
Tight end Brock Bowers was not seen during the portion of practice open to the media. He has been sidelined since the fist Allegiant Stadium practice on Aug. 14, though coach Antonio Pierce has referred to the first-round pick’s absence as precautionary.
Rookie linebacker Tommy Eichenberg also remains sidelined from practice.
Welcome home
Tuesday’s practice took place inside the team’s practice facility, so there were very few fans in attendance. But there were some special guests watching from the balcony.
The Paseo Verde team that represented Nevada in the Little League World Series was at practice in full uniform just days after being eliminated in third place in the U.S. bracket.
The players weren’t joined by their manager, however, as Adam Johnson was on the field and back to work at his day job as an assistant equipment manager for the Raiders.
While their season is over, athletes are going to compete.
At one point early in practice, several Paseo Verde players were racing against teammates while being pushed in office chairs.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.