Dec 22, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith (22) warms up prior to the game against the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Coming out of the University of Colorado as a raw, incredibly athletic cornerback, Jimmy Smith attracted the attention of scouts across the league, but Smith was skipped 26 times in favor of other players in the 2011 draft. Granted, 13 of those players have made at least one Pro Bowl, and a handful of others, such as Corey Liuget and Prince Amukamara, have become solid players for their respective teams. Among a wonderful class of first round defensive players, Smith has become the forgotten player. To be fair, there is probable cause for that.

In short, Smith’s rookie season was a nightmare. His awareness was poor, he struggled to play the ball, and his general knowledge of the game seemed lacking. Even though many knew he would be a project, he looked worse than many hoped. After such a poor year, many began to prematurely write off the young Raven. Smith’s second season did not give much more reason to believe he would be a great player, but he, at the least, appeared to be playing more up to “NFL speed.” Although, it was not until his third season that things finally began clicking for Smith.

After only showing minor improvement from his first year to his second, Smith almost became an entirely different player in his third season. Not only did he become more aware of where the ball was, but he began honing his skills in the finer parts of the game, such as how/when to get physical with receivers and how to force them to the boundary. He began to play the ball a bit better, though that is still not a strength of his.

After only defending 11 passes in his first two seasons, Smith defending 15 passes in 2013. Likewise, Smith allowed an Adjusted Yards Per Pass (via Football Outsiders) of just 6.3 yards in 2013, which was good for tenth in the league. Furthermore, Smith’s Adjusted Success Rate of 59% on 90 targets was ranked 12th in the league. The Ravens were finally able to see their raw athlete turn into a fine player.

That said about Smith’s third season, he still had issues with consistency. Though Smith may have dominated one game, such ability may not have translated to the next week. Of course, his “dominant” games were incredible and assured Ravens fans, once and for all, that the first round pick would meet the expectations of his draft slot. Fortunately, Smith continued to improve going into his fourth season.

Through six games in 2014, Smith has become more advanced in how he physically handles receivers and his footwork/balance has seen the most year-to-year improvement to date. More importantly, Smith is sustaining his top notch play from week to week. Smith has yet to have a poor outing in 2014, and he has quite easily been the Ravens best player in coverage.

For the most part, Smith can “delete” players from a game and force quarterbacks to look elsewhere. More often than not, Smith’s allowed catches are short yardage throws in which he is playing off coverage. Though still his fault to a degree, that can also be credited to keen awareness of the defensive alignment by the quarterback and/or offensive coordinator.

To digress, many would like to see Smith’s improvement for themselves. GIFs can only capture specific moments, so going back to watch full games would obviously be a much better way to see his improvement, but GIFs can still do some justice. In the following slides, some of Smith’s development is summarized in a handful of plays.