2027 NFL Draft Profile: Jeremiah Smith Is The Most Dominant WR In College Football

I remember watching Oklahoma wunderkind Adrian Peterson completely destroy college football on his way to 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns as a true freshman. Then I watched him waste two more seasons in college when he should have been playing in the NFL. I thought to myself, we will never see another back capable of skipping college and walking directly into the league and starting.

With respect to tremendous talents who have graced the college landscape since the days of “All Day,” no player gave me that feeling. That is until I saw Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith walk onto a college football field against Akron where he caught 6 passes for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jeremiah Smith: Top WR Prospect for 2027 NFL Draft

Like Peterson, I wondered why he was wasting time in college, especially now that these college players are being paid like professionals. I had to endure watching him absolutely embarrass collegiate defensive backs for two years and finally he is in the final year of his collegiate sentence. Approximately 14 games and a wakeup, and he will be the top prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Like Peterson, there is not much difference about Smith as a junior than what we saw as a freshman, he's just been waiting for his opportunity to go to the league and dominate defensive backs in the process. We all know why Smith is special, but in case you've been living under a rock let's take a look at what makes him an alien. It's interesting that it's very similar to the former Minnesota Vikings great.

NFL Body as a Freshman

Smith has elite size for a receiving prospect. He is currently listed at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, but that is not far off what he was as a freshman. When he walked onto the campus in Columbus he was already 6-3 and 215 pounds. He has always utilized his mass to excel against press man coverage and corners looking to jam him.

Another key to his dominance is how demonstrative he is when attacking the football in the air. If it's a 50-50 pass, then to Smith, it's more like an 80-20 pass. He knows where to be, and he knows how to attack the football at its highest point.

When he explodes off the line, extending one hand is simply not enough to knock him off his route or disturb his timing. His lower half density helps him absorb obstruction and continue forward. Corners can't disrupt the flow of his route because he has the equivalent of a suit of armor on him.

He has big, strong, long arms and heavy hands. He has lethal chops and swipes that can break any type of hold from a defender, or simply brush away any attempt at jamming or staying attached to Smith while he's running his routes. And when he extends his arm, he creates so much separation that it's hard for most defensive backs to recover. He also utilizes an ability to lean into a defender at a break point with his shoulder and create separation by throwing his flipper (the bent arm that exposes his elbow).

Finally, he uses his body for positioning against defenders. When they play off, he attacks right down the center of the coverage man, forcing him to get back, which opens him up for clear passing lanes underneath. In the red zone, he's a nightmare because he's too big to be physical with, and his natural catch radius—thanks to his body positioning, arm length and hands—makes it nearly impossible for corners to stop him on jump balls or any pass where he can box out the corner like he's a power forward on the basketball court.

Matthew Berry's 100 Facts

Instant Elite Production

Smith was not just fast coming out of high school; he was track fast, winning the 110 and 400-meter hurdles in high school. That speed and explosiveness transitioned seamlessly to college and allowed him to have immediate success. Being tall and having a fast turnover made it nearly impossible for defensive backs to pick up on his stride length and how fast he was eating up cushions. Before they had a chance to react, he was already by the defender, catching the football and racing to the end zone.

Cornerbacks absolutely fear his vertical speed, and so many times they found themselves in a difficult position. If they bail too early, then Smith can just open up and catch uncontested passes all day. It opens big, throwing windows for digs, comebacks and back-shoulder fades that are unstoppable. He gets in and out of breaks like a receiver half his size. If they are late, strike up the band. Smith is in the end zone.

He not only has the speed to eat up the cushion quickly or to burst by someone immediately, but He understands how to create separation, whether that's by stacking defenders and giving them limited options to catch up using angles, or if it's just his God-given ability to hit 21.5 mph while running. But he creates the separation before he catches the ball, and even more after he does.

Continued Dominance Of College Football Competition Over Time

The key to what has been a wildly successful first two years in college football, and the reason why you can predict a third quality season from Smith, is his durability. This is where he separates himself from Peterson, because he was able to participate in all of Ohio State's games over the past two seasons. He started 16 games as a true freshman and followed it up by starting in all 13 games during his sophomore campaign. There's no reason to believe that he would all of a sudden stop being durable in Year 3.

Smith's consistency was something that even Peterson could not match. During Peterson's second year at Oklahoma, he dealt with multiple injuries that he had to play through, which drastically decreased his production even though you could still see how incredible the talent was. In Year 3, Peterson broke his collarbone and missed a significant amount of time.

Smith had over 1,300 yards as a freshman, and as a sophomore, he still had over 1,200 yards, but he did it in three fewer games. He also finished his second season with more receptions than his freshman year, while almost equaling his 15 receiving touchdowns as a freshman, but he came 2 touchdowns short.

This is the most beautiful expression of his size and athleticism working together. He already possesses the body frame to have an advantage over any cornerback he faces. But when you couple that with elite-level explosiveness and a surprisingly nasty streak, it's not hard to understand why he's so effective going up and grabbing the football.

Improvements to Watch During the 2026 College Football Season

Smith has been a grown man for a long time, and as we prepare to watch him play his final season it is difficult to find any issues with his game, but if we were knitpicking there are a couple things that he can clean up.

While he doesn't have issues getting off the line, it's usually because he just overpowers defensive backs. There's no guarantee at the NFL level that he'll be able to do that. So, creating more reliable releases that don't deal with strength or overpowering a defensive back would help his game.

As a route runner, he can still refine his breaks at the apex of his routes, which will help him get in and out of cuts smoothly. It is nothing that hinders him now, but as he continues to elevate as a pro, it will give him that much more of an advantage over defensive backs.

The final tidbit is his consistency as a blocker. There's no reason why he shouldn't absolutely maul defensive backs anytime he wants, but it seems as if he picks and chooses his spots. It would be great if he just decided that every time he blocked someone, he was looking to destroy them.

It should be a lot of fun watching Smith complete what has already been a Hall of Fame-caliber collegiate career.

Published Aug 19, 2026, 4:00 AM ET