The biggest question to ask when entering the NFL’s 2021 Draft is about wide receivers. Experts and fans are already debating who is the best option: Ja’Marr Chase from LSU or DeVonta Smith from Alabama?
Smith was the winner of the Heisman 2020 Trophy after carrying 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. Chase chose not to participate in the 2020 season in order to prepare for the NFL Draft in the midst of COVID-19.
In the last episode of the First Draft podcast with Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay of ESPN, Kiper Jr. spoke about the debate between Smith and Chase.
“It’s very close,” Kiper Jr. said. “There are some people who look at Chase, and that’s what I’d say: don’t forget how great he was. They had Terrace Marshall – I got it at the end of the first round for Baltimore. Clyde Edwards-Helaire it was the race back to Joe Burrow, and you had Justin Jefferson, who had a great debut year with the Vikings. You had a great Ja’Marr Chase, putting 84 receptions, 21.2 on average and 20 touchdowns. DeVonta Smith played this year, he was spectacular. … Both receivers will go to the top of the project, somewhere in that 2-5 area, and I would not be shocked if they were 2-3. Will it be close? Will it be too close to call? It could very well be at the end of April. This can be a tie until the end. “
Although Chase chose not to participate this season, many draft experts think he is better than Smith. In 2019, playing for the National Champion LSU Tigers, Chase managed 84 receptions for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns.
In Daniel Jeremiah’s most recent list of the top 50 candidates, the former NFL scout ranks Chase No. 3 and Smith No. 7.
In December, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay listed the best non-quarterback candidates in this year’s draft class, including some who have already chosen to leave the season.
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“I would go with Penei Sewell but he gave up, so we won’t see him play, ”said McShay. “Micah Parsons, a Penn State linebacker, gave up. He is one of the top five players. LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase is another perspective of the top five who gave up and he will not play this year. It is the strangest year for evaluation we have ever seen. But I love the group’s pass pickers. With LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, the two Alabama guys, Devonta Smith, who has been the most consistent of the four big recipients who will finish in the first round of the past two years. You have Jaylen Waddle, who is injured, but so explosive when he is healthy. Rashod Bateman, who is very similar JuJu Smith-Schusterand Kyle Pitts, a tight end, is having a monstrous year. He could be the tenth tight end in the top 10 in the past 50 years of the NFL Draft. “