The life of a nose tackle is an unheralded one. They don’t typically accumulate a ton of box score statistics. Their job is often to take up space and free up other players to make plays. And, on a very basic level, the amount of punishment you take eating double teams from 300-pound players seems miserable.
And the players who take that relentless punishment and play at the highest of levels rarely get any national praise. Two of the best nose tackles in recent history—DJ Reader and Damon “Snacks” Harrison—have a total of ZERO Pro Bowls and one All-Pro nod between them.
For the past three seasons, nose tackle Chris Smith has quietly sat on the Lions’ roster. A Michigan native, Smith entered the NFL as an undrafted player, and he’s only made five game appearances for Detroit since they signed him in 2023. But he has also essentially never left the building. Sure, there were times he was cut, signed to the practice squad, and cut again. But Detroit has always seemingly found a way to bring him back. And last year, he made the team’s 53-man roster for the first time out of training camp.
The Lions keep finding room for Smith, simply because he keeps doing everything they ask of him.
“He just does everything right,” coach Dan Campbell said on Saturday. “He does all the little things right. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s the guy you love to coach because he’s up here all offseason, works his tail off, is always trying to hone his game. He plays discipline football.”
During Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, you’d hardly notice Smith unless you were going out of your way to watch him. He logged a single tackle on his 29 defensive snaps, and PFF gave him a paltry 47.3 grade. But he was the first person who jumped out in the film upon Campbell’s re-watch of the game, and it was one particular moment that quintessentially defined the kind of player Smith is.
In the second quarter, the Bengals had the ball first-and-goal from the Lions’ 7-yard line. Smith substituted in, but noticed that there wasn’t another defensive tackle that came in with him. That left him without a linemate and Detroit without an 11th player. While Smith would normally play the 1-tech—lining up opposite the center’s shoulder—he instinctively slid into the 0-tech, heads up with the center. That evened out the line, and he knew he now had to take on all three interior offensive linemen.
“He’s smart enough to say, ‘You know what? Fine.’ He just gets to a zero nose to balance out the front,” Campbell said. “We only got three. And he battles in there. He takes three guys on.”
That kind of attitude defines who Smith is as a person. When he talks about the thankless nature of his job, he simply states: “That’s what I signed up for.” For him, he gets satisfaction when he opens opportunities for others.
“That’s the job, making sure the linebackers are kinda untouched, and I try to do my best for that for the guys behind me so they can go and play fast, too,” Smith said. “It’s really just part of the job. You’re in the middle of the defense, that’s your job is to close it up.”
Much like his play, Smith isn’t loud when he talks, but he gets the message through. He’s never had the boisterous personality of a cocky cornerback or the neediness of a diva receiver. So in a lot of ways, this job is perfect for him.
“I think just my personality, too. I’m not really a camera guy or anything like that,” Smith said. “It comes a little easier for me.”
In Detroit’s culture of gritty work, doing your job, and lifting up your teammates, Smith is the perfect fit.
“He plays discipline football. He’s a grinder, man. He’ll do it. He’ll take on double teams for 60 plays if you ask him to do it,” Campbell said. “And that’s a thankless job and it’s hard and it’s nobody really sees that. You don’t get any love. But he doesn’t care. To him, that means more to him to know that he’s keeping his linebacker free like that’s his heaven. So, it’s unselfish and it’s hard. It’s a nasty job and it’s not for everybody. And so that’s why you appreciate it.”
And while he may not be getting the outside love from analysts and fans who often overlook the importance of a nose tackle, he is getting plenty of praise and encouragement from inside the building, and that could mean locking up another spot on the 53-man roster this year.
“Coach Campbell and the (other) coaches, they see that. The linebackers see that,” Smith said. “So that’s kinda where some of the praise comes in.”