It's not an overstatement by any stretch to say that Miami Dolphins cornerback has been a substantial disappointment after two NFL seasons. 
The Dolphins invested a second-round pick in the former South Carolina product back in the 2023 NFL Draft, taking him with the 51st overall pick. That return on investment is yet to materialize.
Through two years, Smith has played in 21 games (155 defensive snaps) with just 18 combined tackles to his credit. He appeared in just 6 games last year, missing time with hamstring and shoulder injuries. Last year he earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 33.6 and coverage mark of 30.1 in 155 defensive snaps with a catch allowed percentage of 84.6% (16 of 19) and opposing passer rating of 122.4.
With Kendall Fuller gone and Jalen Ramsey off the radar as the team attempts to work out a trade for him, Smith steps in as a top candidate to start this year. Fortunately, his reps recently have been good, according to his head coach.
Mike McDaniel addressed the media on Thursday, and while he praised Smith for his recent good play, he also made no bones about that needing to translate to the field on Sundays.
“Cam (Smith) is kind of like when I was speaking about the team this particular offseason. Cam is in a great spot, doing an outstanding job in where we’re at this offseason. His key is how is he going to build on it. His key is, all right, after this eight weeks, we feel very good about a ton of things that we’ve communicated that he’s been able to make gains on in his game and proving (he’s) very, very on it with the whole defensive scheme at a couple of positions. What does that mean moving forward? We’ll see what he makes of that. I think overall, there’s a lot of guys that can identify with, ‘all right, let’s do. Let’s not talk.’ Right now, he’s doing very well.”
That's pretty much as close to a direct challenge that you'll get from McDaniel, and he's not the first to do it this offseason. General manager Chris Grier also talked about Smith this offseason, noting he needs to be more available than he was last season and that they "can't hold his hand and wait for him anymore".
We'll see if the Dolphins pull the trigger between now and the start of the season on a seasoned veteran, such as Rasul Douglas or Asante Samuel, Jr., who remain free agents. That would certainly lock down a starting outside spot. But even so, the door could not be more wide open for Smith going into training camp and the preseason.
