Could Jeremiah Smith be a generational NFL draft receiver prospect? Let's answer seven questions

• Jordan Reid

  Close

  

  Jordan Reid

  NFL draft analyst

  Jordan Reid is an NFL draft analyst for ESPN, providing in-depth scouting on the nation's top pro prospects. Jordan joined ESPN in 2021 and also contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. He played quarterback at North Carolina Central University and then went on to coach there from 2014-18.
   and 

• Jake Trotter

  Close

  Jake Trotter

  ESPN Senior Writer

  Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at jake.trotter@espn.com and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.

Oct 30, 2026, 06:20 AM ET

For the past 30 years, the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft has been exclusively populated by three positions -- quarterback, edge rusher and offensive tackle. But Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith could be primed to break into that prime spot.

The 6-foot-4, 222-pound junior has dominated since joining the Buckeyes as a freshman in 2024 and is having his best season yet in 2026. Smith has used his combination of size, top-level speed and sure hands to haul in 52 passes (tied for 10th best in the FBS) for 984 receiving yards (second in the FBS) and 12 touchdowns (also second) through seven games this season. As the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes get set to play at USC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC), we had NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid and senior college football writer Jake Trotter canvas their sources to talk all things Smith and his next-level projection.

Is Smith the best prospect of Ohio State's current pipeline of first-round receivers? How does he compare to the best receiver prospects overall of the past quarter century? What does he do best, and where could he still get even better? Will he be the first receiver since 1996 to go No. 1, and which teams could fit best? Reid and Trotter size up the talented receiver roughly six months out from the draft.

Jump to:
Why Smith is special | Best OSU WR ever?
Best WR prospect since ...? | Top play to watch
Things to work on | How to defend him
Three NFL team fits

What makes Smith so special to watch on tape?

Smith's unique combination of size, speed and power is what sets him apart. Most bigger receivers sacrifice downfield speed or have less change-of-direction ability, but Smith is the complete package. He moves like a smaller receiver but still shows the power that would be expected of a player his size. And he can make plays downfield, averaging 18.9 yards per catch, 15th in the nation this season.

He is a quarterback's best friend, capable of making tough catches even when it looks like he's covered. Simply put, if the ball is in Smith's vicinity, he's going to figure out how to come down with it. His 15 contested catches are tied for second in the country. And he has only one drop this season -- and only six over his three-year career.

Smith has dominated since arriving in Columbus as a true freshman in 2024, immediately taking a starring role despite having to share a receiver room with future first-round receivers such as Emeka Egbuka (No. 19 pick, 2025) and Carnell Tate (No. 4, 2026). But Smith led the Buckeyes with 76 receptions for 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. And he has somehow gotten even better since.

Smith entered the 2026 season as my No. 1-ranked overall player, and I don't see why that would change between now and the first night of the draft, barring injury. Double-teams, triple-teams ... it doesn't matter what coverage a defense throws at him. Smith continues to have a consistent impact every week. -- Reid

Where does Smith rank in Ohio State's recent run of elite-level wide receivers?

The Buckeyes have produced six first-round wide receivers over the past six NFL drafts: Chris Olave (2021), Garrett Wilson (2021), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023), Marvin Harrison Jr. (2024), Egbuka and Tate. But Smith-Njigba and Wilson both told ESPN they believe Smith is No. 1.

"I think he's the best receiver we've seen at that level, with all his ability and his talent," Wilson said. "He's been league-ready since Year 1. ... He's unbelievable."

Smith has broken Ohio State's career records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He could bolster his case even further by winning the Biletnikoff Award and becoming the first wide receiver since Alabama's DeVonta Smith in 2020 to capture the Heisman Trophy. Smith is currently the Heisman front-runner at plus-122, according to DraftKings.

"Having those accolades would definitely be the cherry on top," said Smith-Njigba, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year. "For him to already break these records speaks volumes. Numbers never lie, so I would have to put him at the top of the mountain."

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Smith's mindset and discipline separate him from other gifted players.

"He's won the genetic lottery -- we know that," Day said. "But the easy thing to do when you're talented is be undisciplined and unskilled and just lean on your talent. Jeremiah's not done that. And I'd love to say that he came in and we sort of developed that part of him. But he had that mindset when he walked in." -- Trotter

play

Jeremiah Smith makes sensational one-handed grab for Buckeyes

Smith is the best overall wide receiver prospect since ...?

Smith isn't quite in Calvin Johnson territory, but I believe he should at least be mentioned in the same breath as Megatron (No. 2 pick in 2007) and some of the other top receiver prospects this century -- like Larry Fitzgerald (No. 3 in 2004), Julio Jones (No. 6 in 2011) and Andre Johnson (No. 3 in 2003). Due to Smith's talent and the current lack of a consensus QB1 in this draft, he has a strong argument to top all of them and be the first receiver selected with the No. 1 pick since the New York Jets took Keyshawn Johnson to begin the draft in 1996.

"He was dominant from the moment he touched the field like Larry [Fitzgerald]," an NFC assistant general manager said of Smith. "He's like a perfect football blend of Julio Jones, Andre Johnson and Terrell Owens."

Jones and Johnson have been the two most popular comparisons to Smith from scouts I've talked to over the past few months. Smith has the powerful strides and ability to glide past defenders like Johnson, but he also shows the run-after-catch ability that Jones consistently showed throughout his career. I give very few All-Pro grades when scouting prospects. But I've already given Smith one. In fact, he's my highest-graded player at any position since Myles Garrett in 2017.

It's rare to see a player be dominant right away in college and continue to improve, but Smith has accomplished that. So I expect him to do the same thing when he arrives in the NFL -- make an early impact as a premier talent and continue to build on that ability. -- Reid

What is one play that every scout will be watching to show Smith's incredible ceiling?

Smith has delivered plenty of spectacular highlights during his Ohio State career, but one NFL front office executive told ESPN that Smith's overall performance against Penn State last season offered perhaps the best glimpse of his extraordinary potential.

"To me, that was the game where you saw everything," the executive said. "Short passes. Running around from the slot. Playing outside. With these big guys sometimes, you wonder, how much can they do? He literally did everything."

Smith finished with six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns in that game. Four of those catches came from the slot, where he has lined up far more frequently in 2026 (50 routes in seven games) than his previous two seasons.

"He's a true three-level threat," another NFL front office executive said. "And he makes crazy plays down the field."

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin also singled out the Penn State game -- specifically a 57-yard reception in the third quarter. "They were double-teaming him and he ran a fade, and I threw back-shoulder," Sayin recalled, "and he made the catch -- it was pretty sick."

Smith capped the performance with a one-handed, 11-yard touchdown catch off a tipped pass, helping the Buckeyes roll to a 38-14 victory. -- Trotter

What does Smith need to work on to truly become a generational player?

There aren't a lot of actual weaknesses in Smith's game, but for the sake of this exercise, I'd like to see improvement in Smith's change-of-direction skills on short and intermediate routes. He can drift on some routes in which he has to work back to the QB. Being more crisp when changing directions and avoiding taking extra steps up the field is one of the few areas for improvement I see when watching Smith's film.

When I posed this question to scouts, most said they'd like to see him become more consistent with his run-after-catch ability. Last season, only 389 of Smith's 1,243 receiving yards came after the catch (31.3%).

"The run-after-catch ability was something that I wanted to see him improve more on because I thought he was a little rigid once he caught it," an AFC area scout said. "We know he's nearly impossible to stop, but I want to see him impose his will even more once he has it in his hands -- that's where those comparisons he's getting took their game to another level and became Hall of Fame talents."

Smith has shown improvement in that category this season. Of his 984 receiving yards so far, 331 of them have come after the catch (33.6%). -- Reid

How do you possibly defend Smith? Is there any hope for opposing defenses?

Get physical with him at the line of scrimmage and try to disrupt his timing. That seems to be the best hope against Smith, according to NFL scouts.

"You may slow him down a little bit," an NFL front office executive said. "But eventually, he's going to get you."

Two weeks ago, Smith said Indiana double-teamed him on every play. Yet he still beat the coverage for a 38-yard touchdown catch that gave Ohio State a 19-7 lead against the defending national champions in a game the Buckeyes eventually won 19-15.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, who has faced Smith three times, scoffed at the notion that physical coverage could contain him.

"Be physical with him, it sounds good," he told ESPN.

On Sept. 12, Texas rallied to beat Ohio State 24-23, despite Smith catching eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.

"Jeremiah is a freak," Sarkisian said. "We found a way to get a couple stops in the second half. The first half was a tough go. You better know where Jeremiah is because he can strike the fear of God in you on any snap."

That said, it will be interesting to see how Smith responds without Sayin, who is out indefinitely with an injury to his throwing arm, and whether Smith can keep producing statistically with freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair throwing him the ball. -- Trotter

Which NFL teams are the best fits for Smith?

While every team would love to have a player like Smith, there are three teams that stand out right now.

The Los Angeles Chargers are the NFL's lone winless team at 0-6 and would pick first if the season ended today. Los Angeles has plenty of problems on offense, including wide receiver. The Chargers desperately need a go-to outside pass catcher to help out Justin Herbert, and Smith would solve many of their issues. Herbert likes to attack down the field, so Smith and Herbert would be an exciting pairing in an offense that needs explosive, big-play threats. L.A. is 26th in yards per attempt at 6.3.

Even though the 1-6 Tennessee Titans selected Carnell Tate with the No. 4 pick in 2026, that shouldn't keep them from adding a talent like Smith. Second-year quarterback Cam Ward has been woefully inconsistent in his accuracy and playing on schedule, and adding Smith would provide him with a big target on the outside to help with his development. Plus, Smith and Tate have proved they can excel together in the same offense from their time at Ohio State.

The 1-5 Miami Dolphins have plenty of young talent at receiver, including three promising rookies in Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas and Kevin Coleman Jr. But none of them have the true WR1 potential of Smith. The Dolphins would like to see what they have in QB Malik Willis, and Smith would help Miami figure out whether he is a long-term solution. This would also be a homecoming, as Smith grew up down the road from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami is overhauling its roster with young talent, and Smith would immediately become one of the team's best building blocks.

If the draft were held today, I think the Chargers would pick Smith with the top overall pick. Their offense has been a disaster this season, and getting a true outside WR1 to complement Ladd McConkey would solve several issues. Smith's ability as a three-level threat and what I believe could be Pro Bowl-level play as a rookie would boost Herbert and the Chargers' offense.

But if any team wants to select Smith, it better have a high pick or be willing to move up to get one. While I think he should be the No. 1 pick, I don't see Smith lasting past the No. 3 selection. He's that good. -- Reid