Jaguars Work Out Former Ohio State WR Devin Smith
The Jacksonville Jaguars have continued to look at outside options at wide receiver as injuries stack up in their offense. Jacksonville took yet another step at an external candidate on Wednesday by working out former Ohio State and New York Jets wide receiver Devin Smith.
Smith was a star receiver and a highly-touted draft prospect for the Buckeyes, catching 121 receptions for 2,503 yards and 30 touchdowns in college before being selected by the Jets with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Despite being drafted six years ago, Smith has appeared in just 18 games in his NFL career. He played 10 games as a rookie before a torn ACL ended his rookie year. Smith then played in four games in 2016, catching one pass.
Smith suffered another ACL injury to the same knee in 2017, ending his third season before it began. One year later, Smith was waived by the Jets after injuries derailed his entire tenure.
Smith has since signed with the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and the New England Patriots, but the Cowboys are the only team Smith appeared in a game with. Smith played in four games for Dallas in 2019, catching five passes for 113 yards and one touchdown.
The work out of Smith on Wednesday is noteworthy for a few reasons. For one, the Jaguars have signed numerous receivers in recent weeks as injuries continue to plague their wideout room. While Smith has yet to be signed, the Jaguars have already signed Tevin Jones, Jeff Cotton and Tavon Austin in the last two weeks.
“I have a lot of respect for some of those guys, the guys that came in after camps have started. We have Jeff Cotton that came in here, we have Tevin [Jones] that came in, the list is long like you said," Jaguars offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said following Wednesday's practice.
"But they all, number one, have been in shape which speaks volumes because as you’re out trying to prepare yourself, you can’t really prepare for the intensity that practice is. You can work out and do all those things, but that little extra that you have to go, you can’t really apply it. They’ve come in, they’ve done a great job, they’ve all kind of stood out at different moments."
Secondly, Smith's best football came when he was under the tutelage of Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who coached Smith at Ohio State for three of the receiver's four seasons.
Smith was one of Meyer's best receivers in his entire tenure with the Buckeyes, catching 117 passes for 2,209 yards (18.88 yards per catch) and 26 touchdowns in three seasons. Meyer has personally seen Smith, a formerly elite deep threat in college, dominate on the gridiron. It hasn't happened in some time, but Meyer clearly places value on relationships and history.
