It’s not every day you see a second-round pick vanish from a roster in his first year. But that’s exactly what happened with Cam Smith. The Dolphins, after barely giving him any snaps, decided to waive the 2023 second-rounder off their roster. Fans, as you might expect, were left puzzled. “We don’t know, he barely played,” said one frustrated fan. And that about sums it up. Drafting cornerbacks in the early rounds is always a gamble. Smith’s quick fall is just the latest example of how quickly a promising talent can flame out.
The 50/50 Reality of Cornerback Draft Picks
The stats don’t lie. According to analytics from Pro Football Focus (PFF), the miss rate (defined as a player not becoming a top-50 player at the position) for first-round cornerbacks drafted between 2010 and 2020 was approximately 50%. For every guaranteed hit like Jalen Ramsey (5th overall, 2016) or Jaire Alexander (18th overall, 2018), there is a cautionary tale of a flame-out. Teams have seen high picks like Dee Milliner (9th overall, 2013) and Vernon Hargreaves (11th overall, 2016) disappear almost as quickly as Smith. The volatility is baked into the position.
Unlike other positions like wide receivers or offensive linemen, cornerbacks are incredibly dependent on their team’s overall performance. A strong pass rush can mask deficiencies in coverage. A solid safety can help prevent big plays. But when those pieces aren’t in place, a cornerback is exposed. No amount of draft capital can save them. This is why cornerbacks are one of the hardest positions to project from college to the NFL. Cam Smith was a standout at South Carolina, but when it came to the NFL, the complexity and speed of the game quickly overwhelmed him.
The Scheme Trap and the Fangio Factor
What really hurt Smith’s chances was the scheme he was asked to fit into. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system is famously rigid and demands high-level cerebral skills. It’s built around a two-high safety, zone-heavy defense, often running complex variations of Cover-4 or Cover-6. For a rookie cornerback, that’s a tough road to travel. The scheme relies less on raw speed and more on mental sharpness. Specifically, the ability to execute ‘match’ concepts. This means cornerbacks have to not only recognize routes quickly but also maintain disciplined eyes on the quarterback, all while covering their assigned zone.
Smith, who was a traditional man-coverage standout at South Carolina, likely struggled with the transition to the zone-heavy principles Fangio demands. In man coverage, corners are often asked to shadow a receiver, relying more on athleticism and quick reaction time. But Fangio’s system requires superior route-recognition skills and the patience to execute subtle ‘read and react’ concepts. A cornerback who thrives in one-on-one situations may falter in a system that prioritizes zoning, pattern-matching, and off-ball awareness. Smith’s experience as a raw athlete didn’t line up with the highly-disciplined, cerebral demands of Fangio’s defense. This mismatch likely contributed to his lack of playing time and ultimate release.
“Corners, like quarterbacks, are dependent on the players around them.” — internet fan
Miami’s defensive schemes have been fluid over the years. For someone like Smith, who was still adapting to the NFL’s speed and complexity, that kind of instability probably hurt his development.
A Lesson for the Future
At the end of the day, Cam Smith’s failure isn’t just about him. It’s a reflection of the bigger gamble that comes with drafting cornerbacks early. Every year, teams face the same tough question: Do they take a shot on a high-upside corner early in the draft, or do they wait and hope to find a hidden gem later?
The reality is, cornerbacks are a risky bet. They’re isolated on an island, but they rely so much on the rest of the defense to do their job. And, as we’ve seen with Smith, even a promising player can flame out quickly if the system doesn’t fit. The Dolphins took their chance and missed. And the truth is, other teams will keep taking these chances. Some will win. Most will lose. It’s the nature of the position.
