The Oakland Raiders had deep pockets coming into free agency and spent heavily, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That includes signing Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith.
During a Twitter mailbag Q&A session with fans, ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez was asked about how the Raiders would use Smith in their defensive scheme and he had an interesting take.
“Right now, even though he’s a career defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, I see him playing inside on the left as a wiser, if not as heavy Lamaar Houston,” Gutierrez said. “Of course, the Raiders figure to show many different fronts.”
Taking a player so cemented in one position and one scheme and shifting him to another position is a risky proposition. Sometimes it works for particular player, but it seems like more often than not it doesn’t, especially when one player is particularly successful in a certain role.