The New York Jets have used their fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft to beef up their wide receiver corps. At No. 110, the Jets selected Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith.
Smith, 23, played five seasons at Georgia, where he built a reputation for his explosiveness and big-play ability. A former high school track star with elite speed, he appeared in 14 games for the Bulldogs in 2024, finishing with 48 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns.
However, Smith struggled with consistency and playmaking in 2024, recording 10 drops and forcing only five missed tackles.
At February’s NFL Combine, he put his athleticism on full display. He ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, posted a 38-inch vertical, leapt 10 feet, 7 inches in the broad jump, clocked 6.82 seconds in the three-cone drill, and finished the short shuttle in 4.19 seconds, numbers that highlight the burst he’ll bring to New York.
“Smith is the fastest player on the field. If a cornerback presses him and misses, he better have safety help because Smith averaged 36.5 yards on his 10 career touchdown receptions,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote of Smith.
“He lacks play strength to finish catches when contested, and his hands are unreliable, which could lead to NFL quarterbacks losing confidence in him,” Zierlein continued. “He could be a tantalizing option for teams looking to take a chance on his speed late in the draft, but his ball skills are unlikely to improve enough for him to become a long-term option.”
The Florida native is expected to add speed and juice to the Jets’ wide receiver room and can be an option on gadget-type plays, as he is a dangerous threat on slip screens, end-arounds, and jet sweeps.
Still, he remains a question mark as a late-round developmental pick.
