REPORTING LIVE FROM FLORHAM PARK—It’s not hard to see why the New York Jets are enamored with Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith.
Running a blazing 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine—the fourth best at the position and tied for 10th overall—Smith was one of the fastest receivers coming out of the 2025 draft class. He led the Bulldogs in receiving yards last year and comes to a Jets team in desperate need of a burner on the roster.
There’s one fatal flaw to Smith’s game, though.
The good news is encouraging: He already understands the deal and is ready to improve.
Arian Smith talks Jets’ draft selection
As fast as Smith is, he has a key problem in hanging onto the ball. Smith led Power Four schools in drops last season with 10.
“That’s definitely something I need to improve on,” Smith told reporters after being drafted by the team. “Drops are going to happen, but I need to do a better job of eliminating them.”
Drops are a problem for most receivers who are taken in the fourth round of the draft. Many of those players cannot make much of an impact right away.
It’s important to note that Smith is a high-character guy. Former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden called Smith his sleeper of this year’s draft. That speed alone is worth a flyer.
And now he’s a member of the Jets.
“They told me they see something special in me,” Smith said of the Jets taking him. The Georgia product previously met with the team during the pre-draft process.
Smith is 6-foot-flat and just 170 pounds. He’ll need to get bigger to make an impact on the Jets this season. It’s easy to see how there’s a path to allowing that to happen, though.
Smith joins a receiver room in New York led by standout Garrett Wilson. There are a plethora of secondary options, including veterans Allen Lazard, Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson, and Malachi Corley.
From a pure intangibles standpoint, his blazing speed makes him an intriguing prospect.
It’s why the Jets took a flyer on him with the 110th overall pick.
