DeAndre Smelter plays for Georgia Tech in an option offense. DeAndre Smelter is also a tremendous NFL prospect. I have noticed that I am in the vast, vast minority on this opinion. Whenever I ask others what their issues with Smelter are, it always comes back to things like “Raw.” And “Project.” I can’t personally find any reason Smelter gets these labels that is a result of his on field play and traits. He’s a good route runner who shows he can be exceptional at cleanly catching the ball. So why do so many deem Smelter simply can’t be propped up as legitimate WR prospect? The conclusion I came to is simple. Volume.
No matter what anybody says they look for in WR’s, be it size, speed, route running, etc, the one trait every single evaluator looks for, admittedly or not, is safety. WR’s scare people more than any other position sans QB. They want to be able to trust the WR. They want to rest assure that there is as small a margin of error as possible. To confirm doubts of “safety” of a WR, volume is the greatest tool.
Volume in this context can be defined as the amount of plays a WR is given the chance to demonstrate his talents, or safety, through production. A volume WR is a WR who, more times than not, is the focal point of a teams passing offense. They are included in enough plays that evaluators can conclude, “yeah, I’m know what this guy can do.” Good examples of recent Volume WR’s: Sammy Watkins, Kevin White, Marqise Lee. The list drags on. All of these WR’s were/are heavily productive College Football WR’s and heavily touted as prospects, more or less for the fact that they got constant exposure within their offense. There was little mystery behind them.
DeAndre Smelter is the antithesis of the Volume WR’s so many hold dear. To this day he only has 53 career catches vs CFB competition. So why do I hold so much confidence in Smelter’s ability to transition to the NFL despite there not being much concrete evidence in terms of production? Because he has all the traits to say he can.
Physical Tools/Ability:
Smelter stands at 6’2”- 6’3” and 220+ lbs, with speed to match. These types of physical traits should be coveted by all teams, but measurements do not paint the whole picture of a prospect (See; Stephen Hill)
What Smelter does have though is “Functional Athleticism.” This means his speed and size actually show up on tape and correlate to talent, unlike many ‘workout warriors’.
Here is an example of what I mean by Smelter having functional athleticism.
Smelter has a fluid release off of the LOS, and is able to explode upfield with ease as soon as he gets the ball to get a good amount of YAC. Most H/W/S types simply look the part and are not as fluid or explosive as their measurements would indicate, but this is not the case for Smelter.
Another example of Smelter’s athleticism is on this deep Post Route.
Smelter pretty clearly was able to get separation in his route (will touch on this later) but what is more impressive on this play is once Smelter tracks the ball in the air and runs in the open field. He is able to string together several breaks to shake the DB and maximise his yardage. His quickness through the breaks never decreases and he doesn’t look like he’s panicking to find more room to run. He simply looks natural. He has the physical tools to impress on the hoof, but most importantly, Smelter actually uses these tools to maximise his opportunities when called upon.
Route Running.
Contrary to popular belief, Georgia Tech does indeed ask its Wideouts to run routes. No, I’m serious, they do. And Smelter is actually good at them too!
Here is the best route I’ve seen Smelter run and this single play shows me all the traits I need to see to give me confidence in Smelter as a route runner.
Smelter gets a good release off the LOS (recurring theme with him) and his deceiving straightline speed for his size forces the DB to flip his hips early. As soon as Smelter sees that the DB has been completely turned around: Hips, head, shoulders all squared to the other end of Smelter, Smelter sinks his hips and positions himself to comeback to the ball and get easy separation, leading to a score.
Why does this one play make me think any Route running concerns with Smelter are overblown? Because he shows every trait a good route runner has. Release, tight footwork, timing, ability to sink hips and explode in break to get separation, etc.
This route shows more subtle positive route running traits Smelter exhibits.
The route Smelter is asked to run asks him to release vertically and then win inside leverage vs the DB to create a passing window. The DB prepares for this though, as he quickly takes away the inside from Smelter at the top of the route. Typically, this is a throw away for the QB because if a DB wins inside and crosses the WR’s face on a slant, it isn’t very wise to throw it.
Smelter still wins on this play though. He is able to fight through the DB’s contact and uses his frame and hands to get separation from the DB.
Does GT ask Smelter to run many routes? No. Can Smelter still be a good route runner? Absolutely. He has already demonstrated he can run routes at a high level of efficiency, but he isn’t able to exhibit this trait because he isn’t a “Volume WR.” He doesn’t run many routes a game, and when he does he typically isn’t targeted often. This says nothing about Smelter’s ability though, as he is able to maximise his limited opportunities into positive plays.
Hands Catcher.
Probably the biggest trait I look for in any WR prospect is if they are a natural hands catcher or not. If the WR does not trust himself to make every catch, or simply lacks the coordination to look like a fluid catcher as often as possible, it is a big turn off for me. Smelter does a good job of demonstrating hands technique and confidence on a number of occasions.
On this play, Smelter shows exceptional hands technique. He comes out of his break in his route and waits in the zone for the QB to get him the ball. As soon as the QB releases the ball, Smelter tracks its trajectory and determines he has to adjust for the ball. He gets his hands together early and attacks the ball in the air, not waiting on it and giving the DB a chance to break it up. Again, Smleter shows he is an advanced technician considering what offense he functions in. He isn’t a project. Really.
While I do understand the reasoning behind most peoples arguments against Smelter, He comes from an O that does not make it easy to evaluate WR’s, I think any argument stating he is too raw or too much of a project is simply off base. He has shown that in his limited opportunities, he can flash both exceptional technique and exceptional physical tools. He’s no Calvin Johnson or Demaryius Thomas level freak athlete, but he also isn’t Stephen Hill levels of incompetent. What he is though, is DeAndre Smelter. Very talented player and legitimate WR prospect. And it is time to start taking him seriously.
hankjonesscouting 