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Cowboys' Mazi Smith Facing 'Make-Or-Break' Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 9:53 AM ET

Sometimes, the life of a young NFL player can be inconsistent as they struggle to adapt to the rigors of professional football, and Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith falls into that category.

In his two seasons, Mazi has struggled to get a foothold in games to the point where he is consistently effective. Yes, defensive tackles aren't big stat-getters, but Mazi simply hasn't been able to be the type of player the Cowboys wanted him to be.

Yes, he showed more flashes last season and put together a string of solid games, and now he'll have Matt Eberflus orchestrating the defense.

Still, Pro Football Focus has Mazi facing a make-or-break season in 2025.

"Dallas’ run defense was a sieve last season, posting the second-worst PFF run-defense grade in the NFL," Pro Football Focus writes. "One reason for that has been the struggles of former first-round pick Mazi Smith, who has earned a lowly 30.0 PFF run-defense grade across his first two NFL seasons, which is the ninth-worst mark among defensive tackles who have played at least 200 run defense snaps in that span.

"Perhaps new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus can unlock something we have yet to see from Smith. If Smith can’t figure things out this season, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him playing elsewhere in 2026."

One thing to nip in the bud straight away - Mazi likely won't be going anywhere in 2026.

He will still have a year left on his contract, and the Cowboys aren't usually in the business of letting a player on their rookie deal leave. Granted, stranger things have happened, but we find that tough to believe.

Back to the football side of it.

Smith, at the center of a Cowboys defensive line that has added several new faces in Payton Turner and Solomon Thomas, will be looked at as one of the key players to stop the run. Yes, it is a whole line thing, but that is what Mazi was drafted for.

Eat up blocks, clog up running lanes, and allow the pass rush demons on either side of him to go quarterback hunting.

Dan Quinn couldn't get the most out of Mazi, nor could Mike Zimmer.

Will it be third time lucky with Eberflus?

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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