2021 NFL Draft: Devonta Smith caps college career with captivating game

2021 NFL Draft prospect Devonta Smith impresses in National Championship Game

One of the last images we’ll have of 2021 NFL Draft prospect Devonta Smith in an Alabama football uniform will be on his way to an X-Ray room inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. He later returned to the field in street clothes and his hand wrapped to celebrate. However, the performance he put together before injuring his hand, being really only the first half, showcased not only why he won the Heisman Trophy, but why he could be playing his NFL career in that exact stadium.

Holding the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins have been rumored as a favorite to take the Alabama wide receiver, and that was before he lit up the national stage. After an incredible game against Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl, Smith came out with an even better encore in the National Championship.

Against the Fighting Irish, Smith hauled in seven catches but made the most of them totaling 130 yards and three touchdowns. He then went off against Ohio State, in limited time due to the injury, for 12 receptions on 15 targets going for 215 receiving yards and another three scores. While these numbers are impressive in their own right, it’s just scratching the surface of what Smith has accomplished with the Crimson Tide.

Starting at the top, he was just the fourth wide receiver ever to win the Heisman trophy, joining Desmond Howard, Tim Brown and Johnny Rodgers. He was also only the third non-quarterback to win the award in the last 15 seasons, with all three coming from Alabama. Interestingly enough, those three, being Smith, Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram, are the only Alabama players to collect the award. But that’s far from where the accolades end for the 2021 NFL Draft prospect.

For starters, Devonta Smith is the only receiver in SEC history to have multiple games with four or more receiving touchdowns. Sticking with touchdowns, he not only broke, but absolutely shattered, the SEC and Alabama record for career receiving touchdowns with 46, previously held by Amari Cooper and Chris Doering with 31.

Moving to receiving yards, Smith racked up 3,965 receiving yards, breaking the SEC record as well, which he did during the National Championship game. He was also able to record five 200+ yard receiving games, including the National Championship, breaking another record that was previously held by Cooper. To top it all off, he also became the first wide receiver ever to be named the Associated Press Player of the Year.

All of these accomplishments, records and trophies are pushing for Devonta Smith to be the first non-quarterback off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, most likely to the Miami Dolphins with the third pick, acquired from the Houston Texans. The Dolphins just barely missed the playoffs this past season and adding Smith could be the difference. He already has chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, adding just another reason for Miami to select him.

Since 2000 there have been 26 wide receivers selected in the top 10 picks of the NFL draft. Of those 26, 11 have gone in the top five picks and just five have gone in the top three selections. So, what company could Smith be joining should the Dolphins take him?

The last wide receiver to be picked in the top three came in the 2007 draft when a player named Calvin Johnson went second overall to the Detroit Lions. Johnson had an incredible career, albeit shorter than expected, and could be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Moving through time, we next find the 2005 NFL Draft where the Cleveland Browns selected Braylon Edwards with the third pick in the draft. Edwards started out as a promising young player, making the Pro Bowl in 2007 and helping the Browns achieve a rare winning record. However, injuries derailed Edwards’ career that ended after just eight seasons in the league.

The year before, in the 2004 NFL Draft, another future Hall of Fame went in the top three. With the third pick, the Arizona Cardinals selected Larry Fitzgerald who just completed his 17th NFL season that has included 11 Pro Bowls.

The other two on the list are a pair from the 2003 NFL Draft. That year the Detroit Lions selected Charles Rogers with the second pick before the Houston Texans took Andre Johnson with the third pick. Rogers played a total of 15 NFL games and caught just 36 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns. As for Johnson, he played 14 seasons and was a two-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler.

The results are mixed when it comes to taking a wide receiver that high, but the Miami Dolphins have a luxury that those teams didn’t, the pick isn’t technically theirs. They have two first-round picks, so why not gamble a bit on one?

With that being said, Devonta Smith is far from a gamble in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s put together one of the more prolific collegiate careers in the history of the sport at the wide receiver position. What he’s done in his career, during the 2020 season and on any big stage is nearly unmatched by anyone in the sport.

It’s rare that a talent like Smith comes along. While he isn’t a quarterback, he still has the ability to transform any team that drafts him. As it just so happens, the team that is in a position to take him is only a few pieces away from being a top contender in the NFL and Smith could be the missing link.