Relax. He missed time in the offseason, crucial time, due to injury. He didn't have time to get acclimated with this offense or either QB because of injury. He was a rookie, learning a lot of new things, on the fly. OSU uses a very simplistic offensive route tree with their wide receivers. It's no different than Petty coming out of college and learning a pro style offense, it takes time. Smith was getting open A LOT, even when the ball wasn't coming his way prior to that injury. If you don't believe me, go back and watch some of those games. See for yourself. The injuries are concerning but that is the only thing that concerns me about his future. If he stays healthy, he will become a big time player for us. Also, that Pryor comment from the OP was blasphemy. Unreal.
But his hands suck, ball gets pulverized every time he catches it, and he can't read a defense without shooting laser beams from his eyes, dude's a penalty machine.
Single handedly carried them to the title? GTFO, he played like 20% of the snaps OP blows but shit like this is stupid also
Here's at least one argument. I don't fault Smith for the fumble in the Buffalo game. That's on Bowles. Had no business putting a rookie in that situation at that point of a close game. When you do stuff like that, you have to expect mistakes.
I agree it's way too soon to call this pick a failure, but it certainly doesn't look good at this point. We have to remember, though, that WRs often don't blossom until their 3rd seasons. But overall, our receiving corps looks excellent for next season: Marshall and Decker should continue to dominate, Enunwa looks like a solid #3, Amaro should return as a solid receiving TE with upside, and even Devin Smith could make some strides.
As sketchy as Smith looked, it's still better than anything with got from Stephen Hill; including his very first NFL regular season game against the Bills. This was a completely lost season for this kid. We should find out something this comming season but it might be a good idea to grab another WR from the following draft (2017). I'd say take one mid round this year if there weren't so many more important positions to solidify first.
With the way Smith was injured this year his evaluation is a solid na/incomplete. Next season is like an extended rookie season for him, much like Enunwa who was more or less written off by a good chunk of people.
The odds of an OSU draft pick succeeding are way to low. I hope that we never draft another Buckeye ever again. And for the record Devin Smith sucks. WR and RB are the two easiest skill positions to transition from College to Pro. Those chiming in about Devin needing time are the same ones who kept touting Stephen Hill. Mac is allowed a mistake. No draft is perfect, but Idzik showed in his last draft you can fail on 10 of 12 picks.
Please don't disrespect Cotch, I hope he gets a ring with Carolina this year. I hope he comes back to retire as a Jet.
Hard to judge wideouts after one year. A lot of them take 2, sometimes 3 years to shine. Did not like anything I saw from Smith this year. But I will reserve my opinion for later.
Actually, WR isn't an easy position to transition from college to pro. Don't let the 2014 WR class fool you, that was a complete anomaly.
Cromartie was a mistake also in my opinion. Most of us here thought it was too much for a declining player and we were right.
He played well during our 5 game winning streak,hopefully Marcus Williams can be the answer.I know who it won't be Dee Millner ,Millner can't even take Mcdougle and Darrin Walls jobs
The odds of an OSU draft pick succeeding are low? You sure about that? You might want to go do a little research before pulling inaccurate BS out of your ass. WR is not one of the easiest positions to transition from college to the NFL. What in the holy blue fuck are you talking about? ..and again, no, I was not a Stephen Hill supporter at all, I was extremely pissed off we did not take Alshon Jeffery in that position. Hill was as raw as you could get coming out of college and it was a clear example of how Evil the combine can be when you have a terrible GM at the helm. Sigh.
They are the same type of receiver, drafted to be a deep threat in similar draft positions with similar expectations. Hill was a little bit bigger, and had faster combine speed in the 40. The only sizable difference between the 2 was that Hill was considered a very good blocker while Devin was often taken out of the game for running plays. Both struggled with drops in the NFL. Both have been criticized for making "body" catches. Both had injury setbacks. Devin Smith obviously had a much better college career than Hill, but they ran different offenses. Nobody's saying they are the same guy, but the comparisons are valid. Devin Smith - 37th overall pick (6'1, 196) Stephen Hill - 43rd overall pick (6'4, 215) http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/devin-smith?id=2552459 http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/stephen-hill?id=2533537 Read the Stephen Hill "Strengths" section for a good laugh.
Cromartie was an ok signing. At the very least he suits up every Sunday which is important when you have guys like Milliner on the roster.
