Tennessee football: All-Rookie honor puts Trey Smith on track to be biggest steal in Vols history

It’s no secret Tennessee football has produced tons of overlooked talent in the NFL in recent years. Just look at the New Orleans Saints. The No. 1 receiver, Marquez Callaway, was an undrafted former Vols, and Alvin Kamara, their Pro Bowl rusher for five years, fell to the third round. Starting defensive lineman Shy Tuttle was also undrafted.

This weekend’s slate of conference championship games is also solely made up of overlooked UT players. The San Francisco 49ers enter the NFC Championship game with their starting cornerback and No. 2 receiver from the Vols, Jauan Jennings and Emmanuel Moseley respectively. Jennings was taken in the seventh round. Moseley was undrafted.

On the other side, a beloved Tennessee football player who fell to the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft became a regular starter at guard for the Kansas City Chiefs. Trey Smith has overcome all injury concerns, and he has now made the Professional Football Writers of America’s NFL all-rookie team.

With this award, it’s time to start talking about Smith potentially being on track to become the biggest NFL Draft steal in history from UT. That’s a tall order, as in recent years, superstars like Arian Foster went undrafted, and in the further past, Reggie White was taken in the Supplemental Draft in 1984.

However, White chose to play in the USFL and would have been a very high pick had he actually entered the real NFL Draft. Foster, meanwhile, didn’t get going until 2010. He did not earn All-Rookie in the 2009 season.

That’s what sets Smith apart from lots of these other players. None of the former Vols who fell to the later rounds of the draft, and by later rounds we mean sixth round, seventh round or undrafted free agent, earned All-Rookie their first year.

Only one Tennessee football player picked later than Smith in the draft ever made a Pro Bowl. Scott wells went in the seventh round to the Green Bay Packers. Late is referred to in pick number, not pick round, as the NFL has changed that over the years with expansion.

Still, Wells, like Jennings in 2020, was on the practice squad or injured reserve his rookie year. Neither was able to make an impact that early. Smith, on the other hand, fell to Pick No. 226 and started every game for Kansas City this year.

Anybody who saw Smith play in college when fully healthy isn’t shocked. All three full seasons he actually played, he earned All-SEC. The only concerns ever surrounded his injury issues due to the blood clots in his lungs, but all signs pointed to him working out a solid medical plan.

As a result, a five-star talent who seems to have lots of durability may have been stolen in the sixth round. If things go as projected given this first year, Smith could easily become the biggest steal ever in the NFL who came out of Tennessee football.