Few true freshman sensations have had the impact that Jeremiah Smith left in the 2024 season. Against Oregon, with the national title contention on the line, OSU needed a big play to gain momentum in the Rose Bowl. In a one-on-one coverage situation, Will Howard threw it 45 yards down the field, and the true freshman delivered with a touchdown. That was Ohio State’s first drive of the game.

As the score read 7-0, Oregon never recovered. The Ducks’ defense spent the entire game trying to slow Smith down. It did not matter. By the end of the game, he set an Ohio State freshman record with 187 receiving yards. It was just one of the moments Smith has shown why he gets projected as the future No. 1 pick. His teammates have the same belief.

“Is Jeremiah Smith going to go three overall? Do you think he’s going to beat you guys?” Detroit Lions’ star WR, Amon-Ra St. Brown, asked former OSU WR Carnell Tate on his podcast yesterday. “I just think it’s like a positional need. If Oakland’s [Las Vegas Raiders] up there again, let’s say Oakland’s one again. I think that there’s a chance he goes one.”

In today’s NFL, quarterbacks usually go first because teams value the position highly. A receiver can be the best player in the draft and still not be selected first if a quarterback-needy franchise holds the top pick. Tate was not questioning Smith’s talent. He was talking about team needs. And when it comes to talent, Smith’s resume is already difficult to ignore.

“If they trade back. They get more out of two or three,” Carnell Tate explained further. “Because I mean, they don’t need a quarterback, right? But I just think it depends on the team that’s up there.” Despite that, though, Smith might be one of those rare once-in-a-lifetime talents out there in the 2027 NFL draft, and a team might even prioritize him even when QBs like Arch Manning, Dante Moore, and Julian Sayin are available in the draft.

Raiders, for instance, drafted Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza this year at 1st overall and will build their squad around him. The major requirement to do that would be elite WRs, and the team still doesn’t have a clear-cut WR1. Sure, the franchise has Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech, Donte Thornton Jr., and Malik Benson from the 2026 draft. But do any of them offer potential as good as Jeremiah Smith? Probably not!

For starters, Smith has shown his offensive ability against some of the most explosive defenses, which stands out to scouts. Against Oregon in the Rose Bowl, he dominated one of the nation’s top defenses. In the national championship game against Notre Dame, he caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State won the national title, and Smith played a major role in the run. And who better to know Smith’s prowess than his former teammate Carnell Tate?

“Carnell has helped me a lot,” Smith said on the Downs2Business podcast. “Especially, you know, I get a lot of attention, so you gotta worry about him one-on-one, and he’s been doing a great job of killing everybody. And Carnell is just different; he brings a lot of things to our offense. He goes to block, he goes to do whatever he gotta do to help.”

Smith’s 1,315 receiving yards broke Ohio State’s freshman record. His 15 touchdown catches also set a freshman school record. That is notable because Ohio State has produced some of the best receivers in college football history, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Terry McLaurin.

Prominent NFL draft analyst makes huge prediction for Jeremiah Smith

Jeremiah Smith’s prowess goes beyond those stats and those game-winning touchdowns. Because this year, the Florida native is starting to take on a leadership role, having already challenged his teammates to follow the ‘Buckeye’ standard. Not just that, he also aims to win the team’s ‘Block O’ patch and become a captain. And for the same reason, prominent analysts are already declaring him a No. 1 pick next year.

“I think Calvin Johnson was like a 98 or a 97 (grade),” prominent NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said on his April 29 podcast. “I’m not totally ruling it out (that Smith can surpass him). … I literally think he could be the best wide receiver of all time. He could be the best wide receiver in the history of the National Football League.”

With those kinds of predictions and excitement, no team will likely pass on Smith even if they don’t have immediate WR needs. And that would show the rich WR pipeline OSU’s Ryan Day has created during his time at the program. Just this year, Carnell Tate went 4th overall to the Tennessee Titans, when many didn’t expect him to be a top-5 pick. That alone says what teams would do to draft a generational talent like Jeremiah Smith.