Darkhorse Lion: Kevin Smith

     The final installment of my three-part series of darkhorse Lions features running back Kevin Smith.  Smith was a third-round pick by the Lions in 2008 out of Central Florida, drafted to fit former coach Rod Marinelli's zone blocking offense.
     Smith has hung around the Lions roster for his first three professional seasons, but entered the 2011 season without an NFL team to call home.  That is until the Lions came calling again to start in the week 10 match up against the Chicago Bears and got the nod as the starter the next week against the Carolina Panthers because of injuries at the top of Detroit's running back depth in Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure.

Kevin Smith looks to make his impact as backup running back.

     Smith's return to the gridiron put up headlines with him putting up the best performance in his career.  Smith put up 140 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns and added 61 more yards and one touchdown receiving  in the 49-35 victory.
     The rest of the season, however, Smith only gained 197 yards in five starts.  Granted, the Lions rarely ran the ball with their great passing game, but the Lions weren't very efficient in the run game.  The addition of offensive tackle Riley Reiff in the first round of the draft shouldn't create as much of an improvement needed, but the running game should have a significant improvement with a shuffle of the offensive line.
     Now, even with a shift of in the offensive line and an increase in running the football on offense, Smith's role in the role in the offense will still be limited because expectations for the top backs on the depth chart to be Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure, leaving Kevin Smith at number three.  However, with the injury history to Best and Leshoure and the uncertainty if Leshoure will be suspended due to off-field issues, Smith will need to help the offense as the backup running back and he will get touches.
     Kevin Smith won't have the impact on offense like Matthew Stafford or Calvin Johnson, but his role can help the Lions become more of a balanced offense and help keep Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure healthy by giving them a breather every so often during a game.