{"id":38725,"date":"2025-05-10T09:48:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T09:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/38725\/"},"modified":"2025-05-10T09:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T09:48:13","slug":"why-ny-jets-wr-arian-smiths-projected-usage-is-intriguing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/38725\/","title":{"rendered":"Why NY Jets WR Arian Smith’s projected usage is intriguing"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the New York Jets drafted Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith in the fourth round<\/a> of the 2025 NFL draft, not everyone was impressed with the decision.<\/p>\n

Smith led all Power Four receivers in drops last season despite leading the Bulldogs in all receiving categories last year. He also battled numerous injuries throughout his college career. <\/p>\n

Fortunately for Smith, the Jets don\u2019t care what everybody else thinks, and the team is confident it can get quality play out of the speedster. Interestingly, a recent report from one of the league\u2019s most plugged-in reporters enhanced that idea.<\/p>\n

The Jets tease Arian Smith\u2019s role<\/p>\n

In a news review from draft weekend, ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> stated that while the Jets were concerned with Smith\u2019s concerning tape at times, his role on the team won\u2019t be to lead a top program in all receiving categories.<\/p>\n

Instead, they\u2019ll create a role using what he does best. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jets are hopeful that fourth-round receiver Arian Smith can curb his drop issue,\u201d Fowler wrote. \u201cExpect New York to use him on smoke routes and jet sweeps to utilize his speed early and ease him into the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

This matches what head coach Aaron Glenn has made clear about Smith since they drafted him. The fact that he has drop concerns isn\u2019t an issue, especially since the player is doing everything in his power to fix it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing about this player, he\u2019s very self-aware, and I think it starts there, and he knows he has to get better at that,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cI\u2019ve lived through this with Jameson Williams. When he came into the league, everybody talked about his drops, and he worked on it tirelessly, every day in practice, and I see this player doing the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re self-aware and understand you have an issue, and you know you can get better, that\u2019s the start, so I know this player [will] get better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best way to get Smith acclimated to the NFL game is to put him in an offensive role that utilizes his speed. Don\u2019t be surprised if he\u2019s used in specific spots aimed at taking the top of the defense, allowing more room for Garrett Wilson<\/a> underneath. <\/p>\n

But wait \u2026 what about the other speed-driven situations, such as smoke routes or jet sweeps? The Jets already have a player who needs to be schemed with those routes in mind.<\/p>\n

What about Malachi Corley?<\/p>\n

Former third-round pick Malachi Corley<\/a> was the apple of the previous Jets regime\u2019s eyes. He was always a raw prospect as a route-runner with inconsistent hands. <\/p>\n

The new Jets regime\u2019s decision to select Smith has put Corley on notice in many ways. He\u2019ll need to make serious strides in his route-running and receiving skills.<\/p>\n

If he doesn\u2019t, the new regime could push Corley outside the depth chart<\/a> as a healthy scratch, or flat-out release him if they feel his role should go to someone like Smith.<\/p>\n

For a player who recorded under 50 yards from scrimmage in his rookie season, the eyes of the Jets world are on Corley to see if he can live up to his college nickname of the \u201cYAC King.\u201d<\/p>\n

If not, he may be looking for a new team to play for in a few months. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the New York Jets drafted Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith in the fourth round of the 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1945,7,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,4098],"class_list":{"0":"post-38725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-arian-smith","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jets","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-jets","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkjets","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-ny-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114482911930010476","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}