There is an open competition happening at interior defensive line for the Raiders. One particular position is the nose tackle when the Raiders line up in 3-4 sets. The team has a multitude of guys who fit the three-tech DT spot, but are looking for someone to step up to play nose tackle.
In that interest, they brought in three players who fit that description -- seventh round pick Brandon Coleman, undrafted free agent Gary Smith III, and veteran free agent Benito Jones.
Well, Jones was released on Sunday. And thus far in camp, it appears the undrafted rookie has been seeing more reps than the drafted one. And when you hear returning starter Adam Butler talk about him, you can see why. This is what he said when asked who has stood out on the defensive line this camp.
"I would say Gary [Smith III], number 75," said Butler. "He's a big dude, big dude. It's hard to move him. I might be a little bit biased because this is like my 10th year since I first started in the NFL, and I used to see those real big guys. When I came in, I was behind Alan Branch. . . Gary's not that tall, obviously, but when I see them try to double team and move him, and he literally doesn't move an inch, it just reminds me of those old school days. I come back from the Patriots dynasty and stuff. But it reminds me of those days, and Gary's somebody that stood out to me."
Branch was a massive dude to be certain. He stood at 6-6 and was listed at 350 pounds. He anchored the Patriots offensive line from 2014-17. The last year of which Butler was an undrafted rookie and the Patriots won the Super Bowl -- the second one for Branch. So for Butler to make that comparison, that's saying something.
Smith is significantly shorter at 6-1, but still weighs in at 320 pounds. Which is a fairly standard size for a nose tackle. He began his college career at Duke before transferring to UCLA where he played three seasons, missing his fifth year senior season to injury and returning for a sixth year of eligibility and putting up career numbers.
If he keeps up what he's shown so far, he could carve out a nice little niche on this team.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders DT Adam Butler says rookie reminds him of NT of 'Patriots dynasty' days
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