2021 NFL Draft: Forget size, DeVonta Smith is all production

He’s too small. He’s not big enough. He’ll never hold up in the NFL. All of these things, and more, have been said about former Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith. As a 6’0″, 175-pound wide receiver entering the NFL, naturally, the size concerns are there. NFL players are bigger and faster than players at the college level, making it more difficult for players of smaller stature to find a place.

While there’s no denying DeVonta Smith is on the skinnier side, there’s also no denying his production for the Alabama Crimson Tide. During his college career, Smith racked up 235 receptions for 3,965 receiving yards and 46 receiving touchdowns. All of those numbers rank first in the history of Alabama football.

When you think about all the great Alabama wide receivers, who comes to mind? Julio Jones probably comes to mind first for most of us. There’s also Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, and DeVonta Smith’s former teammate and current NFL Draft prospect, Jaylen Waddle.

When it comes to NFL success, Julio Jones and Amari Cooper have been the most successful among the group, but Calvin Ridley has already made a nice name for himself. The jury is still out on Jeudy and Ruggs III, as they only have one year of NFL experience under their belts, but both players had some nice moments in their rookie seasons.

Clearly, Alabama has a track record of producing successful wide receiver talent at the NFL level.

Among all the great Alabama receivers, DeVonta Smith not only beat their numbers, he crushed them. Amari Cooper came the closest to Smith’s success, totaling 228 receptions for 3,463 yards and 31 touchdowns. On just seven more receptions than Cooper, DeVonta Smith totaled 502 more yards and 15 more touchdowns.

Julio Jones was an absolute beast at Alabama. He totaled 179 receptions for 2,653 yards and 15 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide. That’s not anywhere near the production of DeVonta Smith, in nearly the same amount of time. Smith played for Alabama for one more year than Jones.

However, Smith’s freshman season only resulted in eight receptions for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Take that freshman season away, and Smith still totaled 48 more receptions, 1,152 yards, and 28 more touchdowns than Jones.

I don’t think we need to go into any more detail, do we? Nick Saban said it best when he said, “His performance speaks for itself,” after being asked about DeVonta Smith’s size.

Any concern about DeVonta Smith’s size needs to be thrown out the window right now. Right now. Get rid of it. When it comes to production, that’s all DeVonta Smith is. He’s the most productive receiver in the history of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and again, there’s a good list of successful Alabama receivers in the NFL.

Is he going to be Julio Jones in the NFL? No. He won’t be Amari Cooper. He’s going to be DeVonta Smith. He’s going to be production, production, production. The Heisman Trophy winner has already overcome doubts about his size at the highest level in college football, and he’s only going to do it again in the NFL.