Day 2 of interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine occurred on Thursday in Indianapolis. Teams and reporters got a chance to meet with defensive backs and tight ends in the 2026 draft class. Among some of the bigger names were projected first-round safety talents like Ohio State’s Caleb Down and Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman.
However, one name that did stick out from the list that revealed meetings with the Kansas City Chiefs this week: Arizona Wildcats safety Genisis Smith, who confirmed to reporters that he had
a formal meeting with Kansas City.
Background
Smith was a three-star recruit coming out of Chandler, Arizona, where he attended Hamilton High School. He was the 53rd-ranked safety in the 2023 recruiting class and the eleventh overall athlete in the state of Arizona. During his recruiting process, Smith received offers from Arizona State, Washington and Iowa State, among others, but ultimately chose to be a Wildcat.
Smith was recruited by current Arizona safeties coach Chuck Cecil, who you may remember was once the Tennessee Titans‘ defensive coordinator from 2009-2011.
Smith ran track in high school, where he competed in the 4×400 relay, the high jump (personal best of 6 feet 2 inches) and the long jump, (personal best of 21 feet 1 inch).
He is also very active in his community: he founded the Genesis Smith Foundation while he was at Arizona, whose mission is:
The Genesis Smith Foundation intertwines the unifying and transformative power of sports with community-driven initiatives that prioritize mentorship, accessibility, and holistic support. By bridging critical resources with safe spaces for growth, we offer a hand up, not a hand out—empowering youth and families to overcome challenges, cultivate resilience, and embrace their fullest potential. In doing so, we inspire a ripple effect of change, fostering interconnected communities rooted in confidence, compassion, and equity—communities resolutely committed to the boundless pursuit of opportunity, inclusion, and shared growth.
My analysis
Smith is a 6-foot-2, 202-pound, long-limbed safety with range and ball-hawking skills; he mentally processes the game well and uses it to his advantage more than his athleticism. He is not slow by any means, but he can struggle to change direction and his footwork can be sloppy at times.
That being said, he has fluid hips and can flip them without losing momentum. Plus, he tracks deep balls well and does not panic at the catch point. He is a smart player, and he is rarely out of place early in the down, but he can struggle to hang with smaller receivers when the play is extended.
Smith shows a good motor and rallies to the football. He is a willing tackler in the run game, but he does need to work on his tackling form; he can fail to wrap guys up from time to time, which led to him having 18 missed tackles last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He profiles as the movable chess piece that Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to have on his defense. In 2025, Smith played 319 snaps on or near the line of scrimmage, compared to 451 snaps aligned deep.
Smith is a glue guy in the locker room and a team captain. While his stats don’t jump off the page — like five interceptions over his entire college career — part of that is because, since he has such a mastery of the playbook, and rarely blows his assignment, quarterbacks rarely throw his way. Out of 382 coverage snaps last season, Smith was targeted just 23 times.
Unlike Kansas City, Arizona does not send safeties on blitzes a lot — but based on his tape, it’s not hard to envision that Smith has the smarts, savvy and size to be effective in that role for Spags.
Fit with the Chiefs
Fit: Very High
Round grade: Late-third or fourth round
With Bryan Cook and Mike Edwards both hitting free agency, the safety position is a need for the Chiefs. However, given the other needs on this roster, it’s easy to see general manager Brett Veach being hesitant to spend a top-100 pick on a safety. Smith could be a good value in the middle rounds and would be an instant upgrade near the line of scrimmage over the current players fitting into that role for Kansas City.
When you watch Smith’s tape, you notice that he and Jaden Hicks have a lot in common in the way they play football. That being said, I believe Smith’s upside might be a little higher than Hicks.
Sagnuolo’s defense is at its best when he has a smart and hard-nosed safety roaming the secondary, and Smith fits that bill to a T. More than being a pretty good football player, he is a great fit for what the Chiefs want to do on defense.
