While he wasn’t the main star of the show during Ohio State’s 34-23 National Championship triumph over Notre Dame on Monday night, Buckeyes wideout Jeremiah Smith still made a huge impact. The freshman hauled in five catches for 88 yards and a TD, including a 56-yard reception for a crucial late-game first down to seal the win. Fans are already clamoring for Smith in the NFL, but he’s still got a year or two before considering that. And it’s not like Smith even watches the NFL anyway.
Advertisement
On an episode of Brandon Marshall’s I Am Athlete podcast, the former NFLer interviewed Ohio State’s wideouts and their wide receiver coach, another former NFL receiver in Brian Hartline. During the sit-down, Marshall asked OSU’s top wideout, Smith, who he thought were the five best receivers in the NFL right now, leading to this surprising revelation from the 19-year-old.
“I don’t know.. I don’t watch the league like that. I just don’t. It’s not that I don’t like it, I don’t watch the NFL. Like, games I don’t really watch, I just watch highlights and route-running and stuff like that, but I don’t really watch the NFL. I like college. I was always like that. When I was in high school, I didn’t really watch the NFL, I always (preferred) college.”
Needless to say, 13-year NFL veteran and six-time Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall was flabbergasted at that response. However, it’s not like Smith dislikes the sport.
It’s simply the NFL he doesn’t enjoy watching. And with the poor quality of officiating and networks trying to shove 12 ads per minute at viewers, we can’t really blame him. Nonetheless, Smith had watched enough “highlights” and route-running videos to come up with a few names.
Jeremiah Smith and OSU wideouts struggle with top 5 list
Considering all NFL receivers emerge from the NCAA college ranks, Smith still has an idea of who these players are going back to their college days. He and the other Ohio State wideouts were asked to come up with a list of top-five wideouts in the NFL right now, and it was quite a chore.
Smith, Carnell Tate, Emeka Egbuka, and their coach Hartline sat in a trailer debating the top guys in the league. There was not often consensus, but there was no argument about who the top two were: former LSU teammates in Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase—who just became the 5th WR since 1966 to win the receiving triple crown—and Minnesota Vikings All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
After that, the list gets a little bit muddled. Miami Dolphins speed demon Tyreek Hill was thrown in the mix, though a down year will hurt him considering the list is for “right now”. CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and A.J. Brown all had their names mentioned as well.
Hartline made sure to point out how often veteran Mike Evans—who just completed his record 11th-straight 1,000+ yard season—is overlooked. The WR coach also showed some love to Buckeyes alumni Terry McLaurin. Egbuka mentioned a few younger wideouts—including Marvin Harrison Jr.—that we’ll be talking about more in the coming years.
Marshall also pointed out that mercurial Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens should be in the mix. He mentioned that he sees a lot of himself in Pickens. Both were athletic freaks who needed a couple of years to fully mature and remove the unnecessary antics from their games. He expects the Steelers wideout to make those improvements in 2025 and on.
Carnell Tate (sophomore) and Jeremiah Smith (freshman) are both too young to enter the top-five NFL WRs discussion just yet. However, Emeka Egbuka, a senior who just finished with over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs, has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. He should enter the ranks he was discussing very soon, as he’s projected to be selected at some point in the first round.
