Former Vol Josh Smith sign a deal as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints. Could he be the next Wes Welker of the NFL?
Former Vols wide receiver Josh Smith inks a deal with the New Orleans Saints. After trying-out during their minicamp this week the Saints offered Smith a deal.
Maybe proposing the question that Josh Smith could be the Wes Welker is a bit of a stretch. After all, Welker was selected to the Pro-Bowl four times and had five seasons where he had over 100 receptions.
2011, was arguably his best season in his career. One 173 targets, Welker had 122 receptions for 1,569 yards. That same season marks his second highest receiving touchdowns total with nine.
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Smith is a Knoxville native who played high school football at Christian Academy of Knoxville. Where he would set quite a bit of records for receiving. Coming out of high school, 247Sports had him ranked as the number 17th players in the state.
The injury bug plagued Smith during his time in Knoxville. His debut season was a decently productive season with 12 catches for 182 yards. His sophomore season was a continued of success until his ankle injury that kept him out the rest of the season.
Overall, his numbers at Tennessee aren’t great but honestly who’s have been under Butch Jones? Smith’s probably would have been more productive under a better coach.
Just take a look at Alvin Kamara who is on the Saints roster as well. Sure, he looked good at Tennessee, but it could have been better with a decent coach. He should have got the ball every single play because college defensives couldn’t stop him.
What did he do in his rookie season? Only show that he can be one of the best running backs in the NFL.
So, great news for Josh Smith. He could quickly come in and make a difference especially in an offense that likes to spread the ball around.
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If Smith can learn the offense and get on the field, Hall of Fame worthy quarterback Drew Bress will get him the ball. Quite honestly there isn’t a better team for Smith to start his NFL career.