Jamison Hensley Dead-On About Jimmy Smith

I know that to some on this website the words "Jamison Hensley" and "dead-on" in the same sentence seems unthinkable, but he hit the bull's-eye in his recent evaluation of third-year cornerback Jimmy Smith on ESPN. After being drafted in the first-round back in 2011, Jimmy Smith has been a bit of a disappointment; never fulling reaching the quality of play we think he is capable of. Here's what Hensley has to say:

Cornerback Jimmy Smith. Most Ravens first-round picks start as rookies. Smith hasn't established himself yet, and he's entering his third season. The 27th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Smith has the size and speed to be a top-tier cornerback. He just hasn't shown the toughness or consistency to warrant a place on the field. Smith's best game last season was the Super Bowl, where he successfully defended San Francisco's final two passes of the game (depending on your interpretation of pass interference). The Ravens are going to need Smith to carry that over into this offseason; Lardarius Webb is coming off a season-ending knee injury and Cary Williams went to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. Smith could put himself in position to take over the starting job from Corey Graham. (via ESPN)

While his indirect comment about pass-interference was a bit silly, everything else he said was dead-on. Jimmy Smith has a ton to prove this off-season and hopefully he will develop into the player we thought we were getting when we drafted him in 2011.