Seattle Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith wasn’t exactly a household name before Super Bowl XLVII, but the Denver Broncos certainly knew who he was.
In fact, the Broncos came extremely close to drafting the Super Bowl MVP.
During his post-draft press conference after the third day of the 2011 draft, Seahawks GM John Schneider said (go to 8:15) he got a phone call from the Broncos, claiming they were planning to select Smith.
“Right at the end there, (Denver) called and were like damn it,” Schneider said referring to the Smith pick.
The story does check out. The Seahawks selected the unheralded USC linebacker in the seventh round with the 242nd overall pick while Denver ended up choosing defensive end Jeremy Beal five picks later.
The Seahawks were one of the few teams who had interest in Smith, the brother of former New York Giants receiver Steve Smith, because he played under head coach Pete Carroll and now-Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. in college.
In Seattle, Smith has become a productive rotational linebacker. He filled in admirably when Bruce Irvin was suspended for the first four games of the regular season and when K.J. Wright suffered a foot injury against San Francisco late in the season.
Denver could have never imagined that Smith, who had four interceptions in his last five games, would turn out to be the MVP of the Super Bowl.