I'm not overly worried about his 'toughness'. If Smith were drafted to play DB and had to be counted on making open field tackles or come up and tackle a RB in the flat I'd be more worried about his durability. Now getting creamed going over the middle is a cause for concern, but that's true for any WR
In one of my earlier posts I stated he would not be a return man for us, that's not his niche and it wasn't at OSU either. He compares to DeSean Jackson the WR, not the returner. Jackson is more elusive in that regard, to say Smith isn't on par with his speed and quickness as a WR is inaccurate. There is a lot of film on Smith, watch the two as they run routes, its very similar.
Dude If he turns out even 80% of DeSean I will buy you a Smith jersey and send your address. If he does that, we are making the playoffs regularly. Go ahead and tell me how many yards he will have this year. If he goes above that number, I am mailing you a Chinese knockoff Smith jersey.
Haha.. Chinese knock offs are the best. Its way to early to tell, it really depends on the rotation. I think year one he is going to be uses sparingly with the addition of Marshall. He has a bright future though and I think he will be a fan favorite soon.
The only thing Smith has in common with Stephen Hill is that they were both drafted in the 2nd round. Hill only had about 44 catches in his entire college career. These are stats from OS web site. Smith played in 54 games over his Ohio State career and started 30 times. He caught 121 passes for 2,503 for a 20.7 yards-per-catch average with 30 touchdowns. He ranks 11th at Ohio State in receptions, fifth in receiving yards and second - to Cris Carter's 34 - in touchdown receptions. Smith led the nation as a senior by averaging a school-record 28.2 yards per catch with 33 receptions for 931 yards. He caught 12 touchdown passes - fourth-most for a single season at Ohio State - including a Big Ten-record tying three touchdown receptions in the Big Ten championship game vs. Wisconsin and a 41-yard scoring reception in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. No. 1 Alabama that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good. Smith has two ridiculously interesting stats to his credit: he averaged 37.9 yards per touchdown reception - a figure that includes a school-record 90-yard reception from Kenny Guiton vs. Cal in 2013 and features seven scores of 50-or-more yards - and, in the 22 games in which he caught a touchdown pass, the Buckeyes were 22-0. Smith, who never missed a game as a Buckeye, competed for Ohio State's track and field team for three springs. He was a sprinter on relays and finished as high as second at the Big Ten championships in the high jump with a leap of 7-0.25 inches in 2013 for one of the Top 5 jumps - outdoors - in Ohio State history.
Those are also just 40 times. I would think that by now we would understand the difference between 40 speed and playing speed considering the Stephen Hill debacle.
I would think by now you'd understand that Hill was a debacle because of lack of WR skills, not athleticism. But I'm sorry, that's not what this discussion is about. Is 4.42 equal to 4.35? No? Then shut up.
4.4 is the average time for top tier receivers. Sub 4.0 is significantly rarer. I consider sub 4.0 elite speed. Every year about 9 to 12 receivers will run in the low 4's whereas only 2 or 3 will hit the low 3's. Personally I'm glad he didn't run below a 4.0 because that usually does not correlate to high levels of success. I'd rather he be where he is, around the average speed of the most successful receivers. So yes Devin is fast and he is fast enough but he is clearly not DeSean Jackson fast so let's just stop saying that. OBJ is a much better comparison.
Why are you refusing to acknowledge the difference between combine speed and play speed? You're not wrong in anything that you're saying about 40 times but seriously how in 2015 are we still applying 40 times to the way a player plays on the field? I thought everybody but the Oakland Raiders figured that out by now.
They are in the same ball park and Smith is very capable of running a 4.3 and has been clocked doing so. Just because at the combine, he had an off day, doesn't mean he isn't in the same ball park. You are really nitpicking.
There's a strong correlation between 40 times and NFL success. Let me know when they invent a way to efficiently measure "play speed". I was responding to the statement that Devin is equally as fast as DeSean Jackson, not applying 40 times as a sole determinant of on the field play so go shove your snide comments up you ass.
