Philadelphia Eagles 2014 first-round pick Marcus Smith played just 74 defensive snaps this season and earned zero tackles.
For the past year, assistant coach Tra Thomas -- who played left tackle for the Eagles for 11 seasons (1998 to 2008) -- worked with Smith and other outside linebackers on rushing the quarterback.
Thomas was relieved of his duties this week and provided a harsh critique of Smith Friday on Comcast SportsNet Philly.
"He's definitely going to have to get a little stronger out there because when you look at even his body type, he has the build of like a high school athlete still -- a young college athlete," Thomas said. "He needs to put on probably about a good 15 to 20 more pounds so he can really execute and be an effective out there.
"He has the same movement pattern as Connor (Barwin), where you can teach him how to work and throw his different moves in and how to help him with his timing."
The criticism meshes with Chip Kelly's in-season assessment that the rookie needed to show more consistency to earn playing time.
Smith will need to spend plenty of time this offseason in the weight room, to prove true Thomas' assessment that he has Barwin-like skills. Otherwise Smith will remain on a path toward being another first-round bust.
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