Why Ohio State Receiver Jeremiah Smith Would Headline This Year’s NFL Draft Class

There’s no debate about who the best player in college football is. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith. That’s largely been the case since he arrived in Columbus ahead of his 2024-25 freshman season. It’s still the case now as he prepares to enter his junior year.

Which begs the question, would Smith be the first overall selection in April’s NFL Draft? He’s most often compared to Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson because of his elite size (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), hands and playmaking ability.

Who wouldn’t want a Calvin Johnson on their offense?

Question answered: the Raiders.

Maybe.

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is all but a lock to go first overall to the Silver and Black. He plays the game’s most important position and Las Vegas desperately needs a quarterback.

Then again, Las Vegas needs just about everything outside of defensive end, running back and tight end. The rest of the roster is a blank canvas. And not in a good way.

Even a novice football fan would tell you that quarterback is the most important position in the game, and probably in all of sports.

But most draft analysts agree Mendoza ranks below last year’s top selection, QB Cam Ward and would be, at best, the fourth QB taken amongst the 2024 top signal callers picked: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.

Smith was discussed as a candidate for the top pick in the ’24 Draft, as a freshman, if he’d been eligible.

If Mendoza is the best QB in this class, but far from a sure thing, could the Raiders — or any other franchise — pass on a QB for a potential generational talent?

Absolutely.

Jeremiah Smith was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2024.

Smith instantly makes any quarterback better. Suppose he was eligible for April’s Draft. Las Vegas could select the Ohio State receiver at first overall and immediately upgrade their offense. Smith, who has 133 catches and 27 receiving touchdowns in his two seasons at Ohio State, would team with running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers to give the Raiders one of the most dynamic and youthful groups of skill players in the NFL.

Vegas could then get creative at QB and sign either promising Packers free agent Malik Willis or veteran Kirk Cousins, whom the Falcons have said they will be releasing in March. Trading for a reclamation project like San Francisco’s Mac Jones would also be on the table.

In that scenario, Las Vegas wouldn’t have to roll the dice on a player in Mendoza, who is extremely talented but seems to have a lower ceiling than other recent first round quarterbacks, nor could they select the top overall prospect. For the 2026 Draft, most analysts rate Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, and Texas Tech linebacker David Bailey as the top overall players, regardless of position.

Smith would rank higher than all three.

This is all hypothetical, of course, but it would be a good bet that Vegas would elect to take Jeremiah Smith, a two-time All-American, over Mendoza atop the Draft and use other resources to address their quarterback need.