Philadelphia Eagles: 6 thoughts on the decision to draft DeVonta Smith
By David Esser
The concerns about Smith’s size/weight aren’t make believe.
As fun as it is to get massively excited about the Smith selection, the concerns surrounding his playing weight aren’t make believe. DeVonta is going to enter the NFL as one of the lightest wide receivers in NFL history, something that typically holds players back from elite levels of success.
With that said, the general discourse around Smith is that his bodyweight doesn’t really matter due to the fact that he played in the SEC, a league that prides itself on having NFL-ready defensive backs. If Smith could handle press coverage there, the hope is that he can handle the same press coverage in the pros.
Additionally, it’s worth highlighting the fact that Smith hasn’t really battled injuries during his NCAA career, something you would typically expect from an undersized athlete.
However, Smith’s low bodyweight is still something that could prove to be a problem in the pros. He’s very fast and an excellent route runner, so maybe it doesn’t matter all that much, but we’ve seen multiple NFL athletes fail due to being undersized.
An avenue for success is obviously right there for Smith due to some of the elite traits that he display at Bama’ – time will tell if his bodyweight holds him back at all with the Philadelphia Eagles.