Tag: devonta smith size

Marvin Harrison comparison should give the Eagles confidence if DeVonta Smith is on the board at No. 12

DeVonta Smith drawing Marvin Harrison comparisons should make the Eagles comfortable with drafting the Heisman Trophy winner at No 12 overall

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The Philadelphia Eagles have athletic and speedy wide receivers on their current roster, but they’re lacking a guy with the total package.

Philadelphia missed out on the original ‘Slim Reaper’ back in 1996 when Marvin Harrison was drafted by the Colts at No. 19 overall. The Eagles drafting at No. 25 overall, landed Jermane Mayberry as an offensive guard.

Harrison went on to log four straight years with 100+ rec (99-02), eight straight years with 1000 yds (99-06), and eight Pro Bowls selections.

A Hall of Fame inductee, Harrison was just 6’0, 179 pounds when he was drafted coming out of Syracuse.

This brings us to DeVonta Smith, a Heisman Trophy winner and a wide receiver who dominated the SEC to the tune of 227 catches, 3835 yards, and 43 touchdowns the last three seasons.

Smith logged in 6-foot-0 and 166 pounds during the medical checks at the Combine and his slight frame and weight are giving some NFL personnel pause on selecting high in the first round.

Harrison’s career proves that Smith is another unicorn and the Alabama star’s penchant for smooth routes, efficiency, and a great catch radius should allow the Eagles to feel comfortable if the Heisman winner is still on the board.

Smith said his versatility gives him a leg-up entering the NFL and could make him the top rookie WR.

“I can do everything — inside, outside, you can put me on special teams,” he said. “There is nothing I can’t do. No job is too big. Wherever you want to plug me in at I can do that. So, that just gives me an advantage.”

The Heisman Trophy winner will go early on Thursday night and Howie Roseman should feel comfortable making the call for a guy that’s already played two seasons with Jalen Hurts.

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Why Alabama WR DeVonta Smith’s size won’t limit him in the NFL

Alabama WR DeVonta Smith weighs in at around 170 pounds. For most receivers, that’s a problem in the NFL. Here’s why Smith is the exception.

In the NFL today, per Pro Football Reference, there are exactly 19 receivers who tip the scales at a maximum of 175 pounds. DeSean Jackson, who just signed a one-year deal with the Rams, is the most prominent of them, with 612 catches for 10,656 yards and 56 touchdowns so far in his 13-year career. Only seven of those 19 receivers were drafted, and only Baltimore’s Marquise Brown was selected in the first round — 25th overall in the 2019 draft. Of the remaining receivers, there are a whole lot of Cole Beaslies, Taylor Gabriels, Travis Benjamins, and Isaiah McKenzies, and even more Tommylee Lewises, Jaydon Mickenses, Jojo Natsons, and Deonte Harrises.

Who? That’s the obvious point.

Today’s NFL doesn’t have a lot of room for receivers under, say, 180 pounds, and less room for outside X-iso targets who can beat top cornerbacks at that size. DeSean Jackson has always relied on a transcendent ability to create open space and avoid contested-catch situations with pure speed and agility. Marquise Brown is still a work in progress. The Bills have Cole Beasley and Isaiah McKenzie as their primary slot receivers, and they’re two of the NFL’s best in that role, especially the underrated McKenzie, but you just don’t often see smaller receivers as true No. 1 guys.

This is newly relevant with the presence in the 2021 draft of Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, who revealed on Monday that he weighs 170 pounds at 6-foot-1. There wasn’t a thing Smith couldn’t do as a receiver for the Crimson Tide — last season, he tied for first in the NCAA in deep receptions (15) and ranked first in deep reception yards (589). Smith also ranked first in screen receptions (35) and screen yards (304), so pretty much wherever he’s going on a route, it’s a bad deal for enemy defenses.

That certainly applied in the NCAA, but what about the NFL? Can Smith make those contested catches? Can he be like DeSean Jackson and torch deep safeties enough to avoid the collisions he’d rather avoid? And can he be a true X-iso receiver in the NFL as he was in the NCAA? Because with his tape and his production, it’s a near-inevitability that Smith will go in the top of the first round, and that just doesn’t happen to career slot receivers.

Smith seemed unperturbed about the potential problems.

“I feel like it’s not going to be any different than college, he said Monday. “I have played in the SEC. I feel like it’s the toughest conference there is. I know a lot of people that are bigger than me that have more problems than me, so I’m not worried about it at all.”

There’s a specific shopping list Smith will have to fill to succeed at the next level, and he appears to check the boxes. In fact, he showed multiple ways in which he transcends his size limitations in just one game — Alabama’s 52-24 win over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Smith destroyed the Buckeyes’ defense for 12 catches, 215 yards, and three touchdowns in the first half, and watching how he did it reveals the ways in which he’ll be able to succeed in the NFL.