Jeremiah Smith is a generational talent. He's the best player in college football. These NFL teams would be lucky to have him next season.
5. Los Angeles Chargers
In theory, the Chargers should be much higher on this list, since, among all the winless teams in the league, Justin Herbert at his best has been the best quarterback. But there are so many other variables at play.
Right now, Justin Herbert is playing terrible football, which is on him, but it is made worse because the Chargers offense as a whole has done him zero favors. They are struggling to protect Herbert, catch passes, and seem to be very much in over their head in this new Mike McDaniel offense.
This is why I wouldn't be surprised if the Chargers this offseason decide to completely clear house, which would mean this team would be heading into another era of great uncertainty, and that may include uncertainty at the quarterback position.
This is why the Chargers are last on my list: I don't want to see Jeremiah Smith potentially suffer through subpar quarterback play during his first few years in the league while on a team that may not have any other offensive building blocks.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneeers
Tampa Bay is interesting because I like the makeup of this team and the idea of Jeremiah Smith fitting next to Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., and Cade Otton, since he'll let them all slide into their proper roles. There are still other aspects of this team and offense that raise some concerns.
This concern primarily comes from the fact that the Buccaneers just made a long-term commitment to Baker Mayfield, a quarterback whose best days are most definitely in his rearview mirror. At first, this won't affect Jeremiah Smith much because Mayfield still has at least a little good quarterback play left in the tank, but in the long run it may be a problem.
It raises some questions in the long run regarding who his quarterback will be, and those are questions that are hard to answer and will become harder if Smith is on this team, because they probably won't be a team picking high in the draft if able to make this selection.
Tampa Bay isn't the worst fit on paper, but after proper analysis, it isn't the best.
3. Tennessee Titans
If not for the Tennessee Titans' terrible ownership, I would rank them much higher on this list because I love the idea of Jeremiah Smith going to a situation that matches his timeline.
If drafted by the Titans, he would be playing on an offense with two young pillars that he can grow with as his career progresses- two young players who look like they can be very impactful down the line, with those two being Cam Ward, a young quarterback who has shown flashes of being extremely talented but has yet to have the proper weapons around him, and his former running mate, Carnell Tate, who is quietly having a very solid rookie year four games in.
These two, along with Jeremiah, can give the Titans one of the best young offensive cores in football, along with reuniting Jeremiah with one of his best college running mates in Carnell Tate, which is what would happen in an ideal world if this selection is made.
Still, I don't trust the Titans to make the right decisions, even with a generational prospect like Jeremiah Smith.
2. Houston Texans
Next, we have the Houston Texans, who I view as the best team on this list, but they have a lot of offensive issues that Jeremiah Smith won't solve but will definitely help mask.
If the Texans draft him, a wide receiver duo of Jeremiah Smith and Nico Collins will be a top-five duo right off the bat and give C.J. Stroud the most help he's ever gotten on the outside over the course of the Texans' career. Due to injuries, Stroud has rarely had two receivers he could trust playing at the same time since his rookie season. While this clearly doesn't fix their offensive line issues, it can help the running game, as teams will have to fear the pass more than ever, which opens things up on the ground.
Stroud is playing stellar football so far this season and is back to looking like an improved version of his rookie self. This has been true even though his team is winless and he's done it without much help from anywhere else in this offense, so imagine him with a receiver like Jeremiah Smith. This Ohio State connection could be wonderful for the Texans and scary for the rest of the league.
1. Miami Dolphins
Miami being number one on this list has little to do with football and everything to do with the storyline. Would it not be fun to see Jeremiah Smith take his talents from Ohio back to South Beach to start his NFL career? Wouldn't it be fun to see the generational prospect represent his hometown in a way he couldn't in college? I love the idea of seeing this happen, and I am someone who was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.
From a football standpoint, this isn't a bad fit, contrary to popular belief. While yes, the Dolphins look like one of the worst teams in football, they do have some good things going for them. Malik Willis looks like a competent quarterback who could be good with help on the outside, Kadyn Proctor looks like an amazing rookie guard, and the Dolphins have the assets and money to turn this thing around fast if need be.
If the most poetic outcome is the one we got and Jeremiah Smith heads back to Miami to start his career, I don't think the situation he'll arrive in is as bad as most believe. This, combined with the cultural significance of this pairing, makes this an attractive fit for Jeremiah that not many want to acknowledge as such.
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