Former Vols OL Trey Smith pacing for career-best season in NFL

Former Tennessee Vols standout Trey Smith has gone viral a few times this season for his exceptional play on the NFL gridiron. What has gone under the radar is just how exceptional his play with the Kansas City Chiefs has been. Through the first nine weeks of the 2023 NFL season, Smith has recorded 381 […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Nov 10, 2023 4:25 PM EST

Former Tennessee Vols standout Trey Smith has gone viral a few times this season for his exceptional play on the NFL gridiron.

What has gone under the radar is just how exceptional his play with the Kansas City Chiefs has been. Through the first nine weeks of the 2023 NFL season, Smith has recorded 381 pass-blocking snaps. He's yet to allow a single sack, which is the best mark among all offensive linemen in the National Football League according to Pro Football Focus.

He's been dominant in pass protection, not just among his peers in Kansas City, but also amongst the entire league. His current pace has him set to reach career marks in all of the stats that have come to matter most for offensive linemen

Trey Smith: 381 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack this season

Most among all O-linemen ? pic.twitter.com/W3BDwmmIVq
— PFF KC Chiefs (@PFF_Chiefs) November 9, 2023

He has no sacks, 16 pressures, and six penalties on the season so far. If he keeps his current pace, he'll have no sacks, 30 pressures, and 11 penalties on the year. That'd be his career-low in sacks, and his career-low in pressures in a single NFL season. It'd match his career-high in penalties in a single NFL season.

By my count, Smith might also pace his career-best mark for pancake blocks.

Does Smith have an All-Pro in his future? Possibly. The Pro Bowl is a near-certainty given his current performance. Of course, he has his eyes on another Super Bowl title in Kansas City, and nothing more.

This development further proves that the Vols are pumping out some elite NFL talent lately. Smith was one of the biggest steals of the 2021 NFL draft. Perhaps Tennessee will produce some more of those in the not-so-distant future.