Kaden Smith
Tight End
Flower Mound, Texas
Kaden Smith was selected in the sixth round with the 176th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday by the San Francisco 49ers. A tight end from Flower Mound, Texas, Smith is the sixth Cardinal tight end drafted since 2012.
"Kaden is a very versatile tight end," Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. "His size and strength give him the ability to be an every down blocker in the NFL and his athleticism will give him the opportunity to be a very good pass catcher as well. Kaden has a knack for making contested catches down the field and tight ends that work the seams in the NFL play for a long time."
A 2018 Mackey Award finalist, Smith was named All-Pac 12 second team a season ago. He finished his career with 70 receptions for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns in 25 career games. He also earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention two times.
"Kaden is the most complete tight end coming out in this year's class," tight ends coach Morgan Turner said. "His ability to make tough catches is rivaled by very few. He also wants to be part of the run game, which very few guys want to do these days. You can put him at the point of attack and trust him in the run game. Kaden really embraced that and did a great job with it."
Smith shined in 2018, playing in 11 games with 10 starts. He totaled 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns. He was named Mackey Award Player of the Week following an eight-catch, 107-yard, one-touchdown performance against Washington. As a sophomore in 2017, Smith played in 14 games and totaled 23 catches for 414 yards and five touchdowns.