Despite only being six feet tall and weighing just 170 pounds, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith has had an excellent start to his NFL career. Smith is coming off back-to-back seasons with seven touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards.
The Eagles rewarded Smith with a three-year, $75 million contract extension this offseason, keeping him in Philadelphia through 2028. His ascension to one of the NFL’s best wide receivers may be a surprise, but his college career would indicate that this was expected from the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner.
Where Did DeVonta Smith Play College Football?
Smith played college football at the University of Alabama from 2017-20. Smith played 54 games in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in four seasons and was a part of two Crimson Tide National Championship-winning teams in 2017 and 2020. He also played on the 2018 Alabama team that played in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Smith’s College Stats
Smith’s stats at Alabama ascended each season of his college career, culminating in an explosive 2020 season where Smith was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, an All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy.
In 13 games in 2020, Smith caught 23 touchdown passes and racked up 1,856 yards on 117 receptions. Smith had nine games with over 100 receiving yards, three games with over 200 yards, and eight games with multiple touchdowns. He had three touchdowns in both College Football Playoff games and had five games with double-digit receptions during the season.
Smith put up these outstanding numbers in just 13 games, with the 2020 season heavily impacted by COVID-19. Had Alabama played 15 games like they normally would in an SEC and National Championship-winning season, Smith’s numbers were on pace for 135 receptions, 2,141 yards, and 26 touchdowns. He became the first receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since Desmond Howard in 1991.
To compare his Heisman season to the NFL, there has never been an NFL receiver with 2,000 yards in a season, and the regular season is now 17 games. In addition, Smith’s 23 touchdowns match Randy Moss’s single-season record for touchdowns set back in 2007. Smith reached 23 touchdowns in just 13 games while Moss reached it in 16 games.
Smith’s 2020 stats are even more amazing when you look at his sparse stats at the beginning of his Alabama career. His freshman season in 2017 saw him catch just eight passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
But one of those touchdowns is one of the most memorable plays in college football history. Facing a 2nd-and-26, and down 23-20 in overtime of the National Championship against Georgia, Smith got behind the Bulldogs secondary and hauled in a game-winning 41-yard touchdown. It was his only catch in the game, but it was already the biggest catch of his career.
It was the next season, in 2018, that Smith’s Alabama career took off. With Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback, Smith hauled in 42 catches for 693 yards and six touchdowns for a considerable second-year leap.
Smith and Tagovailoa were a duo for two seasons before Tagovailoa was drafted in 2020. In their final season together, in 2019, Smith had his first season with over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. Smith had 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns on 68 receptions. It’s worth noting that Alabama didn’t play in the SEC Championship or the College Football Playoff that year, so Smith’s numbers could have been even higher.
When Was Smith Drafted?
Smith was drafted 10th overall by the Eagles in 2021, the third wide receiver taken in that year’s NFL Draft. His college teammate, Jaylen Waddle, was drafted four spots ahead of him by the Miami Dolphins.
Drafting Smith gave Philadelphia much-needed speed at the wide receiver position. Smith helped another former college teammate turned Eagles teammate, quarterback Jalen Hurts, establish himself as the Eagles quarterback of the future in 2021. In 17 games in 2021, Smith had 64 catches for 916 yards and five touchdowns.
Smith’s rookie contract was four years and worth up to $20.1 million with a $12 million signing bonus.