Austin James Smith

NFL Draft Scout/Analyst for Sports/Managing Editor for Trail Miller Inc.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@VochLombardi I’ve got one that’s right up both y’all’s alley. Let’s focus on the top-100 picks we’ve made in the last two years. Booker, Ezeiruaku, Revel, Downs, Lawrence, Barham. How important is it for that bunch to develop and how would you rank them in order of importance to the future?

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

It’s not like Willis doesn’t have the talent to breakout. No, Miami doesn’t have a ton of playmakers around him but Dolphins being closer to 8-9 than 0-17 isn’t a stretch if Willis plays well. Then how does the 2026 NFL Draft shake out?

[DraftTek @Drafttek]

What-If one winning season changed the 2027 NFL Draft? Malik Willis is supposed to be a 1-season stop-gap QB, holding the fort until the Fins can draft a top 2027 QB prospect. But what if Willis kills it??

We built a best-case mock as the baseline. Then Miami exceeded expectation and won - with everything else held constant. The result: new AFC East ripple effects, a reshaped draft order, and different QB landing spots.

Check out What-If sim #2! https://t.co/ydxhppou6L
#NFLDraft #FinsUp

[DraftTek @Drafttek]

What-If one winning season changed the 2027 NFL Draft? Malik Willis is supposed to be a 1-season stop-gap QB, holding the fort until the Fins can draft a top 2027 QB prospect. But what if Willis kills it??

We built a best-case mock as the baseline. Then Miami exceeded expectation and won - with everything else held constant. The result: new AFC East ripple effects, a reshaped draft order, and different QB landing spots.

Check out What-If sim #2! https://t.co/ydxhppou6L
#NFLDraft #FinsUp

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@CBAMavs Rajon Rondo

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@OfficialBort @MavsMuse Technically we replaced him with Max Christie. Once he was included in the Luka trade and under team control long-term, having Grimes in a contract year was expendable. I would’ve liked to have gotten a little better return for him in a trade, but moving him was smart.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@StarsCountdown Wait til you see what Mikko does to Colorado over the next eight years

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@BruceLeVinePuck What are you hearing about @DallasStars and Cameron Schmidt? We did go after Logan Stankoven when many thought he was too small.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@SlaterNFL I’d start by getting ahead of extensions for players they drafted, something they did consistently until the last several years. Extend Tyler Smith asap. No reason he and his team aren’t interested in a deal. If Parsons/Bland are willing to negotiate, get them done too.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@Marcus_Mosher If the Cowboys could get their hands on Johnson in the second, I think it would be a steal. Jeanty is more than worthy of going at 12, but if we could get a player at a premium position at 12 (EDGE, WR, OT) and Johnson in the second, I’d be thrilled.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@jonmachota Thinking out of the box

Frank Reich as HC
Doug Pederson as OC
Matt Eberflus as DC
Keep Bones Fassell

Reich and Pederson have worked together. Reich and Eberflus have too. Eberflus had a good stretch in Dallas.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@MLBONFOX Yes

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@McShay13 Given the landscape of this QB class, could a team like Atlanta be in the drivers seat considering their situation with Cousins/Penix. For instance, if you’re a team like Cleveland with a defense built to win now, and O line that’s good when healthy, is that their best option

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@Cowboys_FanTalk Come on @Cowboys_FanTalk. You’re better than this. You know those guys listed come w/ contracts that lessens their value. This is a second year WR who is 23 and making pennies. A guy drafted 39th in 2023. I get you may not like the trade or the player, but this is apples-oranges

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@shardy1535 @ktfuntweets @shardy1535 You are absolutely correct. This ball was supposed to come out immediately and he absolutely was the first read. Slant routes like this with other receivers clearing out in the bunch aren’t designed to be thrown on the opposite hash. Prescott flubbed this.

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@FDuffyNFL I know a lot of people compared him to Geno Smith, and that still holds up. Are you speaking of Eli Manning as the other?

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@MikeHeika With a descent amount of defensive prospects, what do you see as a bigger need moving forward? A young goalie to groom? Players capable of handling themselves in the faceoff circle with Faksa gone and Seguin/Benn one year older? Size up front with Bourque/Stank being undersized

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@MikeHeika Who do you see as a sleeper candidate to make this roster out of camp? We’d love to see Bichsel prove worthy, but how about a Blumel or even a guy like Back who jumps into the old Faksa role?

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@MikeHeika With Stankoven and Bourque likely moving to the big time, who do you see as the prospect that proves to be a solid scoring option for us in the AHL and juniors? Hemming had a could prospects tourney. Wheatcroft could jump out in his second AHL season? Your thoughts?

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@Marcus_Mosher He’s my top ranked back in this class

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@cincyplanner @dpbrugler @BrandonThornNFL How many IOL you thinking?

[Austin James Smith @NfldraftAustin]

@dpbrugler @BrandonThornNFL I’ve got the over/under for offensive linemen going in round one at 9.5. Which way you going?