In his rookie season, wide receiver Arian Smith left many New York Jets fans disappointed.
Viewed by some as a reach to begin with, the fourth-round pick didn’t show much to take that label off his name. Smith finished with seven receptions for 52 yards and zero touchdowns in 16 games, often struggling to earn snaps, even with a myriad of injuries to the Jets’ wide receiver unit.
Despite that, though, Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo is thrilled with his growth and looks forward to his development.
“I’m really looking forward to his development,” said Banjo. Obviously, he was able to continue to grow throughout the season. I spoke on all the guys coming in with the juice and energy they’ve been able to bring, and he’s definitely been one of those guys who’s really wide-eyed and looking forward to improving on a day-to-day basis.”
Offensively, Smith was a massive disappointment, securing under half of his 16 targets and picking up just four first downs. When the Georgia product was selected, many draft pundits categorized it as a significant reach. However, his lightning speed stood out on tape, giving him a tantalizing ceiling for a Day 3 choice.
After running a 4.36 forty-yard dash, there was hope that Smith could find a role immediately in the NFL as a deep threat, which the Jets lacked entering last season. He was unable to accomplish that in his first professional season.
On special teams, though, he was solid in a small sample size, earning a 78.1 grade from Pro Football Focus on 54 total snaps. Smith recorded three tackles and was not credited with any missed tackles.
To stick around in New York, though, Smith will need to do much more than be a mediocre special teams contributor. As a player who will already be 25 years old this season, he must carve out an offensive role with the Jets in 2026, or else he might be looking for a new home.
