Jeremiah Smith has a strong case as the best receiver in college football. One analyst believes he’d already be the No. 1 option for 16 NFL teams, as well.
Starring for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Jeremiah Smith is arguably the best receiver in college football. He emerged as Will Howard’s favorite target as Ryan Day’s team marched to a College Football Playoff national title. While Smith is the standard across the country, ESPN’s Sam Block believes he’d currently be the top wideout on a plethora of NFL teams, as well.
Block listed the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans.
“That’s 16 NFL teams,” Block wrote Thursday on X. “This kid is only 19 years old.”
That would also put Smith above the likes of Atlanta’s Drake London and Pittsburgh’s George Pickens and DK Metcalf. Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy ranked No. 6 in the NFL with 1,229 receiving yards last season. The Chargers’ Ladd McConkey was No. 10 (1,149).
In another Thursday post, Block also compared Jeremiah Smith to some of the most talented pass-catchers in recent memory.
“Calvin Johnson was ridiculous. Julio Jones was ridiculous. Marvin Harrison Jr. was ridiculous,” Block said. “And still… We have never seen anybody like Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith. He is truly a generational talent.”
Nick Saban showered Smith with praise in January as the Buckeyes were plowing toward their national crown.
“When you have a mismatch player like that, and they can’t guard him, you know he’s going to make plays in critical situations,”
Saban said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” ” We had Julio Jones in 2009 or whatever. He was that kind of player.
“We had lots of first-round draft picks at wide receivers, but he was the one guy that you knew if you threw him the ball in a critical situation, he was going to win, and he was going to make the play. That’s what they got in No. 4.”
Jones also had an incredible freshman season, earning the SEC’s Freshman of the Year award in 2008 after posting 58 grabs for 924 yards and four touchdowns. As a newcomer, Jeremiah Smith had almost 400 more receiving yards than Jones. Smith’s 15 touchdown catches as a freshman are as many as Jones had during his three-year Crimson Tide career.
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