Jeremiah Smith would be No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL draft, contends CFB analyst

One player generating a lot of hype right now but is still not eligible for the NFL draft is Ohio State Buckeyes freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Smith is turning heads in the football circles with his performances this season, especially in the College Football Playoff.

One such pundit is former New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills running back Damien Harris. In Harris’ podcast, "Until Saturday," he said that Smith would be the No. 1 overall pick if he was eligible.

"I want Jeremiah Smith, right now, No.1 overall pick. … because he’s got the physical God-given ability, all the technical tools in his toolbox, and he’s just a straight up dog.

"He looks the part, he plays the part. A lot of times you hear the phrase ‘Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.’ This dude looks like Tarzan, plays like King Kong, Godzilla, all of it."

Harris might even have a case for his take, as this NFL draft is projected to be weak at the top. Also, Jeremiah Smith might be the wide receiver teams at the bottom of the NFL like New England and Carolina need to massively help their struggling young quarterbacks.

However, WRs very rarely get drafted at No. 1. In fact, the last time that happened was in 1996 with Keyshawn Johnson going to the New York Jets. As good as Smith is, a team with the No. 1 pick that is looking for a WR would likely trade it for a haul to a QB-needy franchise and look to get Smith slightly later.

Jeremiah Smith posting monster numbers, especially in the CFP

Jeremiah Smith has been truly a monster this season, posting 934 yards on 57 catches and 10 touchdowns with three 100-yard games this regular season. He has turned up the heat even more in the College Football Playoff, where he went for 103 yards on 6 catches to go along with two touchdowns in their first-round game against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Smith put up on encore a couple of days ago in the Rose Bowl against the top-seeded Oregon Ducks, logging 187 yards on 7 carries with two touchdowns.

He made Dan Lanning’s defense look vulnerable, burning every defensive back tasked with covering him. He made receptions of 29, 32, 43 and 45 yards to help the Buckeyes in their blowout of the Ducks.

Smith will have Texas’ attention by now and Steve Sarkisian will have a week to come up with clever ways to try and stop him in their semifinal game. Could Ryan Day ride Smith all the way to the national championship? We will find out later this month.