If we are being honest about it, DeVonta Smith is going to establish himself as the best WR in the league within the next 3 years.

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Unless you are being full blown stupid which I suspect you are, then can't honestly say who gives a shit if Ertz was there. Ertz was here for like 8 seasons, had the Super Bowl winning TD catch and historic record breaking seasons here and all pro and pro bowl years and all of that. He was a living legend. Even though Goedert had surpassed him by the 2020 season he was still forced to play second fiddle and split targets and snaps with Ertz as long as he was here. It's no surprise that Goedert's targets and production have gone up since the Ertz trade.

To act otherwise is just ignorant beyond belief.

I bolded this cause your dumbass can't remember.

Show me where you stated he's an Eagles legend you dumb twat.
That's what I thought dipshit.
Please don't try to spin your way out of it, you'll only look more of a moron if that's even possible.

 

[RememberTheKoy]

I bolded this cause your dumbass can't remember.

Show me where you stated he's an Eagles legend you dumb twat.
That's what I thought dipshit.
Please don't try to spin your way out of it, you'll only look more of a moron if that's even possible.

As I said, you're just a fucking moron that has no reading comprehension skills.

 

[SteelersPride]

Yours just a fucking moron that has no reading comprehension skills.

Ironic

 

[Manster7588]

Yours just a fucking moron that has no reading comprehension skills.

Oh, the irony.

 

[Manster7588]

Ironic

Damn it. Ninja'd again.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Yours just a fucking moron that has no reading comprehension skills.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I mean - he's not even the 3rd best pass-catcher to come out of his own draft, let alone in the NFL.

I think the big concern for me is that his YAC total for the year is just 194. For a guy who is supposed to make his living getting open, and then converting those shorter catches into longer gains...YIKES. That places him 110th in the league - and there are more than two-handful of players who have played in half the amount of games that still have more YAC. To me, that is a major concern.

There's also his catch%, which is abysmal. Sure, some of that is the QB, but Smith doesn't do himself any favors. He rounds out routes, and drops probably more than he should considering how high his number of targets are.

 

[Clayton]

I mean - he's not even the 3rd best pass-catcher to come out of his own draft, let alone in the NFL.

I think the big concern for me is that his YAC total for the year is just 194. For a guy who is supposed to make his living getting open, and then converting those shorter catches into longer gains...YIKES. That places him 110th in the league - and there are more than two-handful of players who have played in half the amount of games that still have more YAC. To me, that is a major concern.

There's also his catch%, which is abysmal. Sure, some of that is the QB, but Smith doesn't do himself any favors. He rounds out routes, and drops probably more than he should considering how high his number of targets are.

I think in a re-draft Smith would still go somewhere around pick 10 again. Parsons would probably go ahead of him but I think he fell because of character concerns of positional depth of LB in the draft.

Devonta Smith is doing alright. Pitts, Chase, and Waddle all went before Sewell so clearly they were in a different prospect tier. If anything its kinda cool that 4 pass catchers from the top of the draft are doing well. That never happens. Usually half of these top flight WRs bust.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I think in a re-draft Smith would still go somewhere around pick 10 again. Parsons would probably go ahead of him but I think he fell because of character concerns of positional depth of LB in the draft.

Devonta Smith is doing alright. Pitts, Chase, and Waddle all went before Sewell so clearly they were in a different prospect tier. If anything its kinda cool that 4 pass catchers from the top of the draft are doing well. That never happens. Usually half of these top flight WRs bust.

Yep. By no means does this mean Smith is a bust. But absurd to think, based on these returns, he can be the 3rd best WR in the NFL - as the OP suggests.

 

[jarntt]

I think in a re-draft Smith would still go somewhere around pick 10 again. Parsons would probably go ahead of him but I think he fell because of character concerns of positional depth of LB in the draft.

Devonta Smith is doing alright. Pitts, Chase, and Waddle all went before Sewell so clearly they were in a different prospect tier. If anything its kinda cool that 4 pass catchers from the top of the draft are doing well. That never happens. Usually half of these top flight WRs bust.

Probably? If a team took Devonta over Parsons in a redraft, their GM probably wouldn't make it to the next pick. I don't see any way you can draft Smith around the top 10 pick based on what we have seen. I said after the draft I wouldn't be surprised if Toney ended up better and other than the injuries I've seen nothing to tell me Smith is clearly better than him so far. I do think Smith is going to be good if he gets an NFL caliber QB and do think he is still a first round talent (late first round) but no way he is a top 10 pick if a redraft was done today. I wonder if teams realized how good Mac Jones was if they would have ranked Smith a little lower

 

[returnofjakedog]

I think in a re-draft Smith would still go somewhere around pick 10 again. Parsons would probably go ahead of him but I think he fell because of character concerns of positional depth of LB in the draft.

Devonta Smith is doing alright. Pitts, Chase, and Waddle all went before Sewell so clearly they were in a different prospect tier. If anything its kinda cool that 4 pass catchers from the top of the draft are doing well. That never happens. Usually half of these top flight WRs bust.

All true. No one would have had an issue if RtK had predicted good performance and career. But to jump on "Top 3" and refuse to acknowledge that there are possible negatives to his game is where the backlash comes from.

My fav part of the thread discussion so far is where RtK insists that there is no issue with Smith's ultra-skinny frame. He insisted that there was no correlation between size and injury, and he (RtK) posted a study breaking this down. The problem is that he didn't read the study thoroughly enough, and while it supported his theory for most of the text it specifically stated that the smallest demographic (which Smith is in) does have a higher injury rate. Of course when this was pointed out RtK decided to ignore the study that he himself posted! Lol!

Smith can be very good but there is nothing to indicate that he will be top 3 in the league at this point. He has issues due to his size and strength. He has big trouble fighting for contested balls when he is well covered and, as noted, his yards after catch is not good at all. His catch rate is also not very good, certainly not as good as RtK predicted.

I have the same stance as before: if Smith is going to develop into a top tier WR he needs at least 12-15 lbs of muscle added. He needs to start guzzling HGH and hit the weightroom as soon as the season is over. If he doesn't then he will never reach his potential.

 

[Clayton]

Probably? If a team took Devonta over Parsons in a redraft, their GM probably wouldn't make it to the next pick. I don't see any way you can draft Smith around the top 10 pick based on what we have seen. I said after the draft I wouldn't be surprised if Toney ended up better and other than the injuries I've seen nothing to tell me Smith is clearly better than him so far. I do think Smith is going to be good if he gets an NFL caliber QB and do think he is still a first round talent (late first round) but no way he is a top 10 pick if a redraft was done today. I wonder if teams realized how good Mac Jones was if they would have ranked Smith a little lower

The only reason I say probably is that I dont know if teams took Parsons off the board completely. That said, there is no way Parsons would make it past the Broncos or Panthers in a redraft imo.

Smith is good but I saw him as more of an Adam Thielen type of guy and not the Davante Adams type that you need to be to become the best WR in the league.

 

[Cincyfan78]

The only reason I say probably is that I dont know if teams took Parsons off the board completely. That said, there is no way Parsons would make it past the Broncos or Panthers in a redraft imo.

Smith is good but I saw him as more of an Adam Thielen type of guy and not the Davante Adams type that you need to be to become the best WR in the league.

Even then, Thielen is 6'2" and 200lbs.

Smith is listed at 6'0 (is he really?) and listed at 170 lbs.

That's a lot of body mass/size given up between the two in comparison. But, I get where you're going with it.

 

[fastforward]

I mean - he's not even the 3rd best pass-catcher to come out of his own draft, let alone in the NFL.

I think the big concern for me is that his YAC total for the year is just 194. For a guy who is supposed to make his living getting open, and then converting those shorter catches into longer gains...YIKES. That places him 110th in the league - and there are more than two-handful of players who have played in half the amount of games that still have more YAC. To me, that is a major concern.

There's also his catch%, which is abysmal. Sure, some of that is the QB, but Smith doesn't do himself any favors. He rounds out routes, and drops probably more than he should considering how high his number of targets are.

Smith is matching Jerry Rice's rookie yards total but he's doing it with an average of 14.2 yards per reception and only 3.3 yards YAC per reception. The 61.7% catch rate matches the stuff from the 1990's when completion % was a lot lower. For someone like Michael Irvin 61.7% would be a weaker season, (until he got old).

 

[Cincyfan78]

Smith is matching Jerry Rice's rookie yards total but he's doing it with an average of 14.2 yards per reception and only 3.3 yards YAC per reception. The 61.7% catch rate matches the stuff from the 1990's when completion % was a lot lower. For someone like Michael Irvin 61.7% would be a weaker season, (until he got old).

Right - but with his size/frame can he continue to post possession like WR reception yards while not being able to take advantage of what he was supposed to be excellent at, YAC? Right now, he's getting the benefit of a mobile QB who can extend plays and find him enough time to get open downfield. That works as long as Jalen can continue to play at that level as a passer (I have my doubts, but that is another topic).

My guess is, next year, he'll likely see a regression in Yards per reception in terms of actual air yards to catch, and an increase in YAC as they work on better sets to get him free. But, he's going to struggle at the LOS with press coverage because of his size. If he can't find a way to beat that more consistently, he's going to continue to struggle, IMO, with his YAC and his target/reception %.

Also, while matching JR's rookie yards, it's also fair to point out other WR's far pass that as rookies now, especially with how much the game has changed offensively in terms of passing. You take a guy that is supposed to be a big YAC in the top 10, I think it's disappointing to not see him be able to do that on a consistent bases. Ranking 110th in pass-catchers in YAC is a real concern for me going forward because he's not going to grow, and likely not going to put on 30lbs to beat press coverages. They will have to scheme around his lack of size - which 100% can be done.

 

[Clayton]

Even then, Thielen is 6'2" and 200lbs.

Smith is listed at 6'0 (is he really?) and listed at 170 lbs.

That's a lot of body mass/size given up between the two in comparison. But, I get where you're going with it.

Yeah, he is more of an extreme version of Theilen but there really isnt anyone else to compare him to. Id also guess that Smith career is more front-loaded than Thielen because he is so skinny. Thielen took off in the NFL 3 years after Smith but I wouldn't be surprised if he lasts 3 more years than Smith.

 

[fastforward]

Right - but with his size/frame can he continue to post possession like WR reception yards while not being able to take advantage of what he was supposed to be excellent at, YAC? Right now, he's getting the benefit of a mobile QB who can extend plays and find him enough time to get open downfield. That works as long as Jalen can continue to play at that level as a passer (I have my doubts, but that is another topic).

My guess is, next year, he'll likely see a regression in Yards per reception in terms of actual air yards to catch, and an increase in YAC as they work on better sets to get him free. But, he's going to struggle at the LOS with press coverage because of his size. If he can't find a way to beat that more consistently, he's going to continue to struggle, IMO, with his YAC and his target/reception %.

Also, while matching JR's rookie yards, it's also fair to point out other WR's far pass that as rookies now, especially with how much the game has changed offensively in terms of passing. You take a guy that is supposed to be a big YAC in the top 10, I think it's disappointing to not see him be able to do that on a consistent bases. Ranking 110th in pass-catchers in YAC is a real concern for me going forward because he's not going to grow, and likely not going to put on 30lbs to beat press coverages. They will have to scheme around his lack of size - which 100% can be done.

Certainly possible, but the Eagles are going to look different with 3 2022 1st round picks. Tough to project anything Eagles in 2022.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Smith is matching Jerry Rice's rookie yards total but he's doing it with an average of 14.2 yards per reception and only 3.3 yards YAC per reception. The 61.7% catch rate matches the stuff from the 1990's when completion % was a lot lower. For someone like Michael Irvin 61.7% would be a weaker season, (until he got old).

Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins 2020 stats were statistically better in virtually every catagory than every year of Joe Montana's career except for 1989s passer rating.
Just sayin'

 

[Cincyfan78]

Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins 2020 stats were statistically better in virtually every catagory than every year of Joe Montana's career except for 1989s passer rating.
Just sayin'

Yeah, trying to compare football stats against guys from nearly 40 years ago doesn't work well. Heck, even from 15 years ago...the game has changed so much in terms of passing.

I mean, the Bengals are just 200 yards away from having 3 1,000 yard WR's...The. Bengals.

 

[fastforward]

"If there was ever a player who was going to give Rice and his records a run for the money then it's DeVonta Smith. Especially in this 17 game era that he starts his career in." - opening post.

I don't think it's fair to compare stats from different eras either. I mentioned Rice because the OP did. I added Irvin as there aren't 'pass target' stats for either Rice and Irvin early in their careers, but 'pass targets' appear earlier in Irvin's history and he missed most a lot of time before that stat was recorded. I thought it was a fairer comparison.