Your Opinions Of Willis and Smith

[*ochocincos*]

People talking about how Smith is so much worse than Will Clarke because of last year's stats, but in the same three years they've been in the league, Smith has had the same number of sacks as Clarke (4.5). And so far this preseason, Smith has looked much better than Clarke (and MJ).

Also, Smith was a more prolific pass rusher in college compared to Clarke. Clarke only had 9.5 sacks total in four years at WVU, which was in the Big East Conference for 2010-2011 before changing over to the Big 12 in 2012. Meanwhile, Smith put up 21.5 sacks while at Arkansas, which is in the SEC (tougher conference than Big East and Big 12). Actually in pre-draft predictions, Smith was rated in the 3-4 round range whereas Clarke was considered a 5th rounder by NFL.com. Some other draft sites also had Smith rated ahead of Clarke with about the same round projections. Clarke was more potential with ideal measurables whereas Smith was a smaller guy with (much) better college production. I believe that's why Clarke went in the 3rd whereas Smith fell to the 5th.

If it's me and I know how the Bengals are with developing talent in the middle-to-late rounds, I'm taking the guy with a better resumé over someone who is primarily just potential.