DeVonta Smith will not participate in Alabama’s pro day.
He’ll rest on the strength of his Heisman Trophy season.
But will that be enough to make him a top 10 pick in next month’s draft? It seems possible.
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SIGN UP HERE And one potential landing spot could be to the Eagles at No. 6. That would make for a reunion with his former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts. The two have spoken recently, Smith said on Monday, as an Eagles question led off his virtual pro day press conference.
“Yeah, me and Jalen, we talked recently,” Smith said. “Not just about that but just how the process and things are going. And how’s my training been going and just catching up about life things and things like that. It would be a blessing just to hear any team just call my name. In that situation, it’s just a blessing for anybody.”
Smith in 2020 caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. And that season came a year after he had 68/1,256/14. There’s no questions how productive Smith was at the college level, playing for one of the top programs in the country, in the top conferences in the country.
But the question about Smith is how his skills will translate. OK, that’s not fair. The question is how his size will translate.
NFL
Because during the season, Smith was listed by Alabama at 6-1, 175. Then he declined to be weighed at the Senior Bowl.
And on Monday, after avoiding the question a couple times, Smith said he weighs 170 pounds.
“Same thing I’ve been weighing,” Smith said.
You can understand the frustration. Smith just won the Heisman Trophy playing at 170 pounds and now a bunch of schlubs looking at him through their computer screens are questioning if he’s big enough. But it is a legitimate concern and it’s likely a concern some NFL teams have about Smith.
“I feel like it’s not gonna be no different from college,” Smith said. “I mean, I played against some of the best in college. I played in the SEC, I feel like it’s the toughest conference it is. I know a lot of people that’s bigger than me that has more problems than me, so I’m not worried about it at all.”
There have been other light receivers to be drafted and go on to have success in the NFL. DeSean Jackson was 175 pounds back in 2008. Marquise Brown was 166 just a couple years ago.
But Brown was drafted at No. 25 and Jackson was a second-rounder. With Smith, we’re talking about a potential top 10 pick. And maybe it’s unfair — or even silly — for teams to shy away from him because of his size, but it’s still on people’s minds.
Aside from the pressure of likely being a first-round pick, Smith will also be trying to live up to his Heisman Trophy status in the NFL He was the first receiver to win the trophy since Desmond Howard back in 1991.
“I feel like there’s an expectation with everybody who wins the Heisman,” Smith said. “Everybody expects you to do this and that. I have my individual goals and things like that, that I expect myself to accomplish. Really just doing the things that I know I’m capable of doing and just letting everything else fall in line for itself.”
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