Devonta Smith is next up in the line of great Alabama receivers to make it to the pros. Although very undersized, playing at less than 180 pounds last year for Alabama, there’s no denying that Devonta Smith can make plays. He does all the little things extremely well and barring injury he’s going to surely produce at the NFL.

Strengths: 

  • Phenomenal Body Control

Devonta Smith has amazing body control which allows him to adjust to poorly thrown balls. In the air he’s able to contort his body every which way which really increases his catch radius.

  • Big Catch Radius

As previously mentioned his amazing body control and leaping ability give him a massive catch radius that allow him to haul in balls that aren’t thrown perfectly.

  • Amazing Route Runner

Devonta Smith is truly a special route runner. He has sudden movements when he needs to be quick and smooth movements on longer developing plays. He understands the ins and outs of coverages and offensive schemes which allow him to get open quickly and on time.

  • Big Route Tree

Devonta Smith has the ability to run all kinds of routes as showcased on his tape. Playing at Alabama with Sarkisian at OC he was already in a pro style offense but he was asked to run all different kinds of routes and he succeeded at everything.

  • Great Hands

Devonta Smith has great tracking ability and hands which is why he’s so consistent. He catches everything and combined with his catch radius and route running he’s going to be a super reliable weapon.

  • Great Speed/Quickness

Devonta Smith is so incredibly quick and his movements are extremely sudden and he changes direction so fast. His long speed is great too and he has enough speed to run away from people.

  • Gets a Lot of Yards After the Catch

He doesn’t use too many finesse moves to get away from defenders in the open field but he understands angles extremely well and he has great speed and acceleration which allows him to run away from defenders.

  • Amazing Football IQ

Devonta Smith has the best feel for the wide receiver of anyone in this class. It’s a bit hard to describe but watching tape there are so many nuances in his game that make him such a great receiver.

Weaknesses:

  • Thin Frame

 The only real concern about Devonta Smith is whether or not he’s going to hold up for a full 16 games against bigger guys at the NFL level. At 6’1 174 he has one of the lankiest frames for a wide receiver in recent memory and his play strength isn’t very good either. Whether or not this will be an issue is tough to determine but for me I thinks this makes a bit of a riskier pick but not much more.

  • Slowed by Press Sometimes

As a smaller receiver when corners get physical with him he can be thrown off his routes at times. He does have counters eventually but there are many plays in press in which he’s taken out of the play because of physicality from the defense.

Player Comp: No one is quite as lanky as Devonta Smith at the wide receiver position so obviously no player comparison is going to be exact but I think Calvin Ridley is an extremely good comparison. Both guys have great route running and an elite feel for the game. They’re both quick and sudden with great long speed too. They also both have great body control that allows them to catch balls away from his frame. The reason why Smith could be better if he stays healthy is that he doesn’t come with the drop concerns Ridley has.

Final Thoughts: Devonta Smith is another receiver that I’m around the general consensus on. Some people think that he’s better than Chase and there’s far fewer people, albeit still some that have Waddle ahead of Smith. Overall I think he’s the WR2 and I think most people do and he should go between picks 7-12 of the draft. You can’t expect Smith to be the true X Receiver for a team but when paired up with a solid receiver at the X Receiver spot I think he can be one of the most productive wide receivers in the league at the Z receiver spot. I think the Giants would be a great fit where he could play next to Kenny Golladay.