DeVonta Smith prefers Mac Jones over Tua Tagovailoa. Does that drop his Dolphins grade?
Wide receiver DeVonta Smith seemed like the perfect draft pick for the Miami Dolphins immediately after he set multiple records while lighting up the Ohio State defense in the first half of the College Football Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium — in front of Dolphins staff, by the way.
The Dolphins are desperate for playmakers, and Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner, was perhaps college football’s premier playmaker in 2020 because he caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns.
And in case folks missed the point, Smith caught 12 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns in that national title game. He did this in just one half because he injured a finger and didn’t play the second half.
So, at that point, Smith was the top receiver on Mel Kiper Jr.’s so-called big board of draft prospects. And the Dolphins, owning the No. 3 overall selection, seemed like a perfect landing spot.
But stuff has happened since then.
To begin, scouts who have spoken to the Miami Herald say LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase is the superior prospect over Smith. Chase, who opted out of the 2020 season, is bigger, stronger and was highly productive playing against Southeastern Conference competition in 2019.
A couple of media draft experts, including the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, are now even ranking Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle ahead of Smith as a prospect.
The problem?
It’s microscope season, and the people putting Smith under their microscope say he’s too thin and not strong enough.
From NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: “Smith is thinner than you’d like and isn’t the strongest player.”
I guess that’s where some folks have stopped reading because Zierlein then adds, “But he has rare quickness, speed, and change-of-direction fluidity, and he creates separation from defenders seemingly at will. He possesses an elite skill level for the position and can hit the defense from short, mid-range or deep.”
Did I mention DeVonta Smith is beloved by his coaches at Alabama?
They’re telling NFL personnel people Smith’s character is perfect in that “he works on the field, in meetings and loves the game and his craft.”
That 160-pound frame, which Smith succeeded with during the SEC career, can be addressed. Most NFL teams have nutritionists and weight training programs, and no one says Smith hates the weight room.
But here’s another dynamic that could affect how the Dolphins feel about DeVonta Smith: It’s how he feels about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
To be clear, Smith and Tagovailoa were good teammates. Indeed, the first memorable throw Tagovailoa made for Alabama — in the 2018-19 national title game — was a 41-yard touchdown connection with Smith.
The play gave the Crimson Tide an overtime victory over Georgia and the national title.
So these two guys together, well, it works.
The small problem is Smith apparently believes Mac Jones is better than Tagovailoa.
Yes, face palm emoji time.
This small nugget following the Senior Bowl practices and week of interviews, buried in Albert Breer’s Monday Morning Quarterback column this week, was eye-catching:
“…maybe the most interesting anecdote I could possibly give you on (Mac Jones) from that week in Mobile comes from his Heisman Trophy winning receiver DeVonta Smith. One team asked Smith, point blank: ‘Tua Tagovailoa or (Mac) Jones?’ The question was barely finished before Smith answered: Mac Jones. He was bold and definitive about it, as I heard it.”
Imagine being Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores and asking that question and getting that response.
Worse, imagine being Grier and Flores and not asking that question and having to read it in Sports Illustrated or the Herald?
Because the whole scenario says things about everyone involved.
Grier and Flores have put their reputations on the line by not only drafting Tagovailoa No. 5 overall in 2020, but committing to him as Miami’s 2021 starting quarterback after a relatively unremarkable rookie season.
And against this undeniable belief in their quarterback, the Dolphins hear a top receiver, who played with Tagovailoa and Jones, prefers the much less-hyped quarterback?
This also says stuff about how the Dolphins might view Smith going forward. Maybe they might not appreciate the candor. Maybe they see Smith as too willing to get into comparisons, which the Dolphins avoid with gusto.
Maybe the Dolphins get past the answer, but it’’s hard to see how it helps Smith in the team’s eyes.
One more thing: The Dolphins will do Zoom meetings with the top prospects as part of their draft preparation. They will do a meeting with Smith as well as Chase and others.
If they weren’t the team originally asking Smith about the Alabama quarterback comparison, Grier and Flores, and all the others on that call, should ask for themselves. And ask follow-up questions on the topic as well.
They should ask why specifically Smith prefers Mac Jones to Tua Tagovailoa.
At the very least it’s a chance for the Dolphins to test their confirmation bias on Tagovailoa. It’s a chance to get more information on the Tagovailoa-Smith relationship.
And it’s definitely an opportunity to learn more about DeVonta Smith.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 2:25 PM.
