Jaylen Smith needs strong Combine performance after Senior Bowl

Tracking former Louisville football wide receiver Jaylen Smith on his path to the 2019 NFL Draft.

The Senior Bowl is a great place for prospects to make relationships with coaches and scouts. A chance to get coached up by NFL staffers and learn what can help you during the rest of the process. Former Louisville wide receiver Jaylen Smith had that opportunity to play in the recent Senior Bowl weekend. Smith found his self on the North squad being coached by Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders staff.

The Senior Bowl was a huge opportunity for Jaylen Smith. There’s a lot of good wide outs in this years class. Smith is projected as a day 3 pick. Smith can raise his stock this weekend and at the NFL Combine. The Senior Bowl has a good track record of getting its players drafted.

Smith is coming off a down season for the Cardinals but if you know anything about it, it’s not all on his shoulders. We’ve seen Smith play great for Louisville. He’s had a few struggles but between the QB play and coaching last season there’s not much on tape there.

In hindsight maybe Smith should’ve entered the draft last season after a good Junior year of 60 catches, 980 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Smith’s senior year he was held to 36 catches, 550 yards, and only one touchdown. That’s why the Senior Bowl was a very good chance for Smith to show out.

Senior Bowl Recap

Jaylen Smith was listed at 6’4 here at Louisville but measured in at 6’2 at the Senior Bowl. Coming in at 6’4 would’ve been huge for Jaylen. Smith come in on the scale at 221. The rest of the measurables came in at 8 3/8 hand size, 33 5/8 arm size, and 79 1/8 wing span. Not bad numbers but would’ve liked to see him measure a little bit taller.

Check out this interview:

Smith seems to have had some trouble hanging on to the football, according to multiple sources.

https://twitter.com/_SteveFrederick/status/1088230294958862336

Doesn’t seem like the best week for Jaylen, and it was capped off with little success in the Senior Bowl as he finished with 1 catch for 12 yards. However, I still think he can help a team in the NFL. With the right system and coaching staff he can make a roster in the league and provide impact as a younger player. Leading up to the draft it was looking like Smith could be picked in round three, but now after the struggles he’s trending toward being a late day three prospect, and potentially even going undrafted.

Now with the Combine invite secured this is another chance for Jaylen Smith to meet and talk with reps from all NFL teams. If he can test well and interview well, he will get his chance. 338 Prospects have been invited including some pretty solid wide receivers. Smith will need to have bring his “A” game with only 256 picks in the NFL Draft.

Potential Landing Spots

Pittsburgh Steelers– The Steelers are like the “wide receiver whisperers.” It just seems like every receiver they draft makes some sort of impact for them almost immediately. They’ve had success with another former Cardinal in Eli Rogers, who was also a late-round pick. Now that Antonio Brown is gone, Pitt will be in search of another deep play threat.

Indianapolis Colts– T.Y. Hilton is the only real threat for the Colts. I think Smith could help this team, as he could be used a deep ball threat. Smith could help provide Andrew Luck with another big target across the middle.

Arizona Cardinals– Sheesh, have you seen the Cardinals wide receiver depth chart? Larry “Legend” Fitzgerald is the only one. I think the Cardinals could snag Smith on day three, and plug him in and he could make this team and make some noise in camp. With a new coach who is going to air it out, they will need weapons to execute their offense effectively.

Stay tuned as we track the journey of Jaylen Smith during the draft process.