2018 NFL Draft: Five landing spots for UNC linebacker Andre Smith

These five teams could take a flier on former UNC linebacker Andre Smith in the 2018 NFL Draft

University of North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Andre Smith elected to forgo his senior season with the football program and opt to head to the NFL Draft.

Smith had a career year in his sophomore season with the Tar Heels in 2016 and was poised to have a big impact in 2017. But after suffering a knee injury early in the year, Smith missed most of the season.

He then declared for the 2018 NFL Draft as he hopes to pursue his dream to play professionally.

It might be a smart decision because if he returned for another year, one more severe injury likely would have ruined any chance of him playing in the NFL.

While Smith’s stock may have taken a bit of a tumble due to his injury, he still should hear his name called. It won’t be in the first round and it likely won’t be on day two, but Smith projects to be drafted somewhere on day three.

The 6-foot, 240-pound linebacker is projected as an NFL backup or a key special teams player according to NFL.com’s profile. Now, that doesn’t mean Smith can’t be productive in the league as we’ve player develop over the years and really standout after being drafted in the later rounds.

Whenever Smith does hear his name called during the draft, he will have his shot to prove doubters wrong.

We take a look at five teams that are a good fit to draft Smith or bring him in as an undrafted free agent.