College football season is here again, and that means Sportsvival will spend the next several months studying game film, following the biggest matchups in the country and profiling the players who could hear their names called during the 2027 NFL Draft. We started the series with Texas quarterback Arch Manning, and now we move to perhaps the most physically gifted player available in the entire draft class- Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
There are highly regarded prospects, there are elite prospects, and then there are players who seem destined for the NFL almost from the moment they step onto a college field. Smith belongs in that final category. After two dominant seasons in Columbus, the question surrounding Smith entering 2026 isn't whether he possesses first-round talent. The discussion is whether he can become one of the best wide receiver prospects the NFL has evaluated in years.
Jeremiah Smith- WR, Ohio State
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 222 pounds
Class: Junior — True Junior
Hometown: Miami Gardens, Florida
High School: Chaminade-Madonna Prep
2027 NFL Draft Status: Eligible following the 2026 season
(Ohio State officially lists Smith at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds on its 2026 roster)
Background
Smith arrived at Ohio State with expectations that would have overwhelmed most freshmen. Coming out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Florida, Smith was the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, regardless of position, and a five-star recruit across the major recruiting services. During his senior high school season, he caught 88 passes for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns. Over his final two high school seasons, he totaled 151 receptions, 2,474 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Smith didn't need a developmental season once he arrived in Columbus.
As a true freshman in 2024, Smith immediately became one of the best receivers in college football. He finished the year with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per catch. He added another rushing touchdown and played an enormous role in Ohio State's run to the national championship.
Then he proved it wasn't simply an extraordinary freshman season.
As a sophomore in 2025, Smith caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving him back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career. He was named the Big Ten's Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year, earned first-team All-America honors and won the Biletnikoff Award.
Through only two college seasons, Smith already owns:
163 receptions, 2,558 receiving yards and 27 receiving touchdowns.
Ohio State notes that his 2,558 yards and 27 touchdown receptions are the most ever by a Big Ten receiver through his first two collegiate seasons.
And now he enters 2026 as a true junior with an opportunity to rewrite the Ohio State receiving record book before potentially entering the NFL Draft.
What Sportsvival Likes
Size and Athletic Ability
Smith looks like an NFL receiver already.
At 6-foot-4 and roughly 220 pounds, he possesses the frame NFL teams covet from a true No. 1 outside receiver, but he doesn't move like a traditional big-bodied possession target. His acceleration, body control and overall athletic ability are exceptional for someone his size.
Defensive backs have a problem before the snap because there isn't an obvious answer for defending him. Play underneath Smith and he can run past you. Give him space and he can eat up the cushion. Get physical with him and he has the size and strength to fight through contact.
That combination is extremely rare.
Ball Skills
Smith's ability to attack the football may be his best characteristic.
He consistently tracks the football over his shoulder, adjusts to throws outside his frame and uses his length to make catches defenders simply cannot reach. His catch radius gives quarterbacks additional margin for error because a pass doesn't have to be perfectly placed for Smith to make a play.
Then there are the contested catches.
Smith possesses powerful hands and tremendous concentration when defenders are around him. Even when a defensive back is technically in good position, Smith's length and ability to elevate can turn a covered receiver into an open one.
PFF reported this offseason that Smith had dropped only three of 166 catchable targets through his first two seasons, illustrating how reliable his hands have been despite the volume of difficult opportunities he receives.
Route Running
This is where Smith separates himself from many young receivers with freakish physical attributes.
He isn't simply winning because he is bigger and faster than college defensive backs.
Smith shows an advanced understanding of leverage. He can threaten vertically before snapping off a route underneath, manipulate defenders with his stem and create separation without needing the football schemed into his hands.
For a receiver his size, his ability to sink his hips and change direction is especially impressive.
That should allow an NFL team to move him around the formation rather than simply lining him up at the X position and asking him to run go routes.
Ability After the Catch
A 6-foot-4 receiver should not be this dangerous after the catch.
Smith transitions from receiver to runner very quickly, and once he gets moving, defensive backs have to deal with both his speed and his strength. He can run through arm tackles, use a stiff arm and turn relatively ordinary completions into explosive plays.
CBS Sports noted during his freshman season how unusual Smith's combination of size, route-running fluidity and yards-after-catch ability was even compared with recent elite Ohio State receivers.
This isn't simply a possession receiver who wins jump balls.
Smith can score from anywhere on the field.
Vertical Receiving Ability
Smith forces safeties to respect him.
He possesses enough initial burst to threaten defensive backs immediately and enough long speed to maintain separation once he gets vertically.
The frightening part for opposing defenses is that Smith doesn't necessarily need separation.
A quarterback can throw the football downfield and allow Smith to make the play.
His combination of speed, tracking ability, size and catch radius gives him the potential to become one of the NFL's most dangerous vertical receivers.
Physicality
Smith plays like someone who understands just how physically gifted he is.
He isn't afraid of contact at the line of scrimmage, across the middle or after the catch. His strength allows him to defeat press coverage, and he already carries an NFL-caliber frame.
That matters because NFL cornerbacks aren't going to allow him the same uncontested releases he occasionally receives in college.
Smith appears equipped to handle that transition.
Areas Smith Can Improve
Finding major weaknesses in Smith's game isn't easy, but Sportsvival will never produce a prospect profile without identifying areas that deserve further evaluation.
Consistency Against Elite Press Coverage
Smith has the physical tools to defeat press coverage, but NFL cornerbacks will present a completely different challenge.
Rather than relying on his strength and athleticism, Smith will need to continue developing his hand usage, release package and ability to counter defenders who attempt to disrupt the timing of the route immediately at the line.
This is less of a weakness than an area that needs continued refinement.
Route Detail
Smith is already a very good route runner, particularly considering his size and age.
But becoming an elite NFL route runner requires considerably more than athletic ability.
NFL scouts will want to see him continue improving the subtleties — varying route tempo, disguising breaks, attacking leverage and consistently getting to the precise landmark expected within an NFL passing concept.
If those details continue developing, his ceiling becomes enormous.
Occasional Desire to Make the Spectacular Play
Smith's confidence is understandable because he frequently can make plays that other receivers cannot.
There are occasions where simply securing the football and taking the available yardage is the better option rather than attempting to turn every reception into something spectacular.
That isn't much of a complaint.
In fact, you'd rather teach an exceptionally talented receiver when to take the easy play than try to teach an ordinary receiver how to make extraordinary ones.
NFL Comparison: Julio Jones
This is one of those comparisons Sportsvival doesn't make lightly.
Jeremiah Smith reminds me of Julio Jones.
Not because Smith is guaranteed to have Jones' NFL career — predicting that would be unfair to any college prospect — but because the physical profile and style of play have similarities.
Jones entered the NFL at roughly 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds with elite explosiveness for his size. He could beat defenders vertically, overpower smaller cornerbacks, win contested catches and turn short completions into huge gains.
Smith possesses many of those same qualities.
What makes the comparison particularly intriguing is Smith's ability to move at his size. There simply aren't many 220-pound receivers who have the acceleration, fluidity, body control and change-of-direction skills Smith possesses.
Another comparison would be a more explosive version of Marvin Harrison Jr., but the Julio Jones comparison better reflects Smith's combination of physicality and big-play ability.
2027 NFL Draft Projection
Current Sportsvival Grade: Top-5 Pick
And I'm tempted to go even further.
If Smith stays healthy and produces anything close to what he has during his first two seasons, I believe he enters the 2027 NFL Draft with a legitimate opportunity to be the first non-quarterback selected — and potentially the No. 1 overall player on Sportsvival's board.
Wide receivers rarely enter the draft with Smith's résumé.
He already has two 1,000-yard seasons. He already has 27 touchdown receptions. He has already won a national championship and the Biletnikoff Award. And he accomplished all of that before beginning his junior season.
There really isn't anything Smith needs to prove statistically in 2026.
The season should instead be about refinement.
Can he become even more technically polished? Can defenses take him away? How does he respond when opponents roll coverage toward him every week? Can he dominate against the best cornerbacks on Ohio State's schedule?
Those are the questions Sportsvival will be watching.
Sportsvival Final Take
Jeremiah Smith is one of those prospects who makes scouting fun.
You don't have to search through the film hoping to discover an NFL trait. The NFL traits jump off the screen almost immediately.
Size.
Speed.
Hands.
Body control.
Route-running ability.
Physicality.
Big-play potential.
Smith checks virtually every box.
The scary part is remembering that he's entering the 2026 season as a true junior, not a senior and not a redshirt junior. He has already produced 2,558 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns before his third college season has even started.
Arch Manning may receive more attention because he's a quarterback, but when Sportsvival begins putting together its overall 2027 NFL Draft Big Board, Jeremiah Smith deserves serious consideration for the top spot.
Sportsvival Early Projection: Top-5 selection with legitimate No. 1 overall talent.
NFL Comparison: Julio Jones
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