{"id":845283,"date":"2026-09-12T12:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T12:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845283\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T12:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T12:58:09","slug":"can-jeremiah-smith-challenge-arch-manning-to-be-no-1-pick-in-2027-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845283\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Jeremiah Smith challenge Arch Manning to be No. 1 pick in 2027 NFL Draft?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1996, despite considerable efforts to trade the pick, the New York Jets made the incomparable Keyshawn Johnson just the third wide receiver selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft<\/a>. (And one of those players, Dave Parks in 1964, was more of a hybrid tight end.)<\/p>\n

There have been 31 drafts since then, and Johnson remains the last receiver to pull that off.<\/p>\n

The topic, however, is sure to be broached at some point during Saturday\u2019s mammoth Ohio State-Texas rematch in Austin<\/a>, as Buckeyes junior wideout Jeremiah Smith has been the best college football player in America the last two years and arguably will, by a decent margin, be the top-ranked prospect in the 2027 NFL class. On the other sideline will be Texas quarterback Arch Manning (maybe you\u2019ve heard of him), who stands as the current favorite \u2014 unless you prefer Oregon QB Dante Moore \u2014 to actually be selected No. 1 next spring.<\/p>\n

Can the 2027 QB draft class live up to the hype?<\/p>\n

Dane Brugler and Madison Eades<\/p>\n

Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1966, we\u2019ve seen the No. 1 pick used 30 times on a quarterback (including each of the past four years) but just twice \u2014 Johnson in \u201996 and Irving Fryer in 1984 \u2014 on a wide receiver.<\/p>\n

Put simply: NFL teams prioritize QBs at the top of the draft, and they\u2019ll do just about anything to avoid taking another offensive skill position (the last running back taken No. 1 was Ki-Jana Carter in 1995). The Raiders even drafted JaMarcus Russell over Calvin Johnson in 2007 \u2014 I\u2019ve got nothing else for that one.<\/p>\n

Most agree that Smith is a generational prospect, but can he break through and overtake Manning and Moore for the top spot next spring?<\/p>\n

The case for Jeremiah Smith<\/p>\n

To be blunt: Smith is the best college wide receiver prospect since at least Julio Jones. They were the most dominant true freshman college receivers I\u2019ve ever seen, and they\u2019re also pretty similar athletically.<\/p>\n

Smith is a legit 6-foot-3, 225-pound offensive weapon filled with twitch, agility, body control, IQ and scary speed for his size. There are no limitations here, physically or otherwise. He\u2019s powerful enough to rip through any jam and explosive enough to just run by nearly anyone across from him.<\/p>\n

He understands leverage, he\u2019s physical at the catch point, he blocks, and he can stop and sink better than most corners. Not only is Smith out of Central Casting as an X receiver, he could start in the NFL tomorrow as a Z or slot, while also being part of the run game.<\/p>\n

The respect corners give Smith in man coverage can sometimes be a bit comical, as players will drift off as far back as possible \u2014 only for him to make them stumble anyway as they attempt to react when he snaps off a comeback. In two seasons plus one game, he\u2019s made a combined 171 catches for 2,709 yards and 29 touchdowns, and there has not been a single day when any of this has looked difficult for him.<\/p>\n

He had eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns during the first half against Ball State last week, capping it off with one of the smoothest ball adjustments (and Heisman poses) you\u2019ll ever see.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Smith touchdown<\/p>\n

Nick Baumgardner<\/p>\n

If those physical tools were it, they\u2019d be enough to make Smith the best prospect in America. But mentally, Smith is as strong as it gets. Ohio State coaches and teammates rave about his work ethic, which he\u2019s elevated to a point where staffers have had to pull him back at times during practice and offseason drills.<\/p>\n

He is a football player who is serious about being a football player. He won\u2019t be publishing any autobiographies next year; he\u2019s never given himself a nickname, and the ones he has (J.J. and Jerry) are boring \u2014 not unlike how no one called Calvin Johnson \u201cMegatron\u201d until he arrived in the NFL.<\/p>\n

The reason why a team might want to invest in Smith at the top of the draft, even over Manning (or Moore), is because of how much better he can make any quarterback already on the roster. As a true freshman in 2024, Smith recorded 72 catches for 1,260 yards, despite 13.4 percent of the throws he saw being considered off target.<\/p>\n

In a class filled with freaky receivers, Smith\u2019s ability to adjust to those poor throws is unmatched.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Smith highlights<\/p>\n

Nick Baumgardner<\/p>\n

And not only is he capable of circus catches no one else can pull off, but he\u2019s had just three drops in 220 career targets.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s shown up in big game after big game, too. In back-to-back playoff performances as a true freshman, against Tennessee and Oregon, Smith had a combined 13 catches for 290 yards and four touchdowns to spark OSU\u2019s national title run. Last year, had eight catches for 144 in the 2025 Big Ten title game and another seven receptions for 157 yards in the Buckeyes\u2019 playoff loss to Miami.<\/p>\n

So, why might a team consider Smith at No. 1? Because he\u2019s both the best pure talent and the safest bet in the 2027 NFL Draft class.<\/p>\n

Does Manning have more on the line Saturday?<\/p>\n

Smith is one of those truly rare prospects who doesn\u2019t have much else to prove at this level. He\u2019s shown up big, on stages like this, many times.<\/p>\n

Manning, on the other hand, could use a standout performance.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the early cloud that hung over Manning\u2019s 2025 campaign came from how rattled he looked throughout the season opener at Ohio State. Manning made some big-time throws in that game, but he had just 38 yards passing through three quarters. When it ended, with a Buckeyes victory, many NFL scouts began to refocus their Manning evaluations on 2027.<\/p>\n

Arch Manning vs. Ohio State 2025<\/p>\n

Nick Baumgardner<\/p>\n

We cannot erase the past. But this is Manning\u2019s chance to show scouts just how much he\u2019s grown.<\/p>\n

A year ago in Columbus, he showed poor footwork, missed reads, rushed throws, and generally played erratic football \u2014 and those issues persisted throughout the first half of Texas\u2019 season. The Manning we saw down the stretch, however, played with calmer feet, more consistent throwing mechanics and a lot of confidence. He was a different player during the second half of the year.<\/p>\n

Against a lesser opponent last week, Manning wasn\u2019t perfect, but he threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns in an easy win over Texas State. He now has a prime opportunity to start separating himself atop the \u201927 QB class from Moore, who also had his share of shaky moments against top defenses last year.<\/p>\n

Arch Manning throws<\/p>\n

Nick Baumgardner<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probable, if not likely, that the team picking No. 1 in 2027 will be in desperate need of a new quarterback. So, in truth, Smith\u2019s shot at being the first pick has less to do with his talent and more to do with the situation of that club.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, if you look back at the football landscape in the spring of 1996, the biggest reason why Johnson actually went No. 1 wasn\u2019t entirely about his immense talent or the Jets\u2019 decision-making. At least part of the explanation came down to the fact that college football\u2019s top QB prospect was Peyton Manning, who had just finished his sophomore year and wouldn\u2019t be eligible until the following year. The first quarterback taken in that \u201996 draft was Tony Banks, at No. 42.<\/p>\n

The upcoming draft class has legitimate QB potential, though, starting with Manning. He can keep proving his case against the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n

But the superstar receiver on the other sideline could have a lot to say about the outcome, both Saturday in Columbus and in April at the draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1996, despite considerable efforts to trade the pick, the New York Jets made the incomparable Keyshawn Johnson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1607,399,398,396,397,349,99],"class_list":["post-845283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-college-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}