{"id":857130,"date":"2026-04-06T16:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857130\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:27:19","slug":"packers-will-host-big-time-deep-threat-for-predraft-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857130\/","title":{"rendered":"Packers Will Host Big-Time Deep Threat for Predraft Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Smith, who put himself on the NFL map with two strong seasons at East Carolina, will have a predraft visit with the Green Bay Packers, according to Tom Silverstein<\/a> of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.<\/p>\n

Smith spent his first four seasons at North Carolina State, where he never caught more than five passes. In two seasons at East Carolina, though, he caught 42 passes for 805 yards (19.2 average) and six touchdowns in 2024 and 64 passes for 1,053 yards (16.5 average) and seven interceptions in 2025.<\/p>\n

The yards-per-catch numbers for his career are impressive and are backed up by the physical skill-set. At 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.40 seconds and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.20<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think that I got a great skill-set,\u201d he said at pro day. \u201cAs Pirate Nation knows, my skill-set is speed. So, they love that about me. That\u2019s kind of why I wanted to come out here and showcase that I can run some routes, but I think I put on a good performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to showcase more than his speed, though, to the scouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to prove I could do it all,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not just like a deep ball guy. That\u2019s something that\u2019s always been on my mind. My mental is making sure everybody knows that, yeah, I can run deep, but that\u2019s not the only thing I can do. I can catch the ball. I can run across the middle. I can get out my cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith is expected to be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent. The Packers have a long-term need at the position, with only Matthew Golden and Savion Williams under contract beyond the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

At pro day, he said special teams would be the key during his first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether that\u2019s special teams, whether that\u2019s X, Z, slot, quarterback, running back, it don\u2019t matter to me, bro,\u201d he said. \u201cWherever they need me at, I\u2019m there. I just want to get to that next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s speed has been evident for years. At Huntington (Md.) High School, he set the state indoor record in the 55 and 300 meters. Outdoor, he finished second in the state in the 200 and third in the high jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t teach speed,\u201d Smith told Pirate Pulse<\/a> before the 2025 season. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what this offense is about (is) shots downfield, big plays. That\u2019s my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the details,\u201d he added. \u201cDepth on my routes. Looking the ball all the way in. Blocking on run plays. Chasing the ball downfield. Stuff most people don\u2019t notice. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to take me to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed his career by catching four passes for 156 yards, including touchdowns of 47 and 72 yards, in the bowl game against Pittsburgh. For his efforts, he was named to The AP\u2019s All-Bowl Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the season, he caught 11 passes for 136 yards against East Carolina.<\/p>\n

“He’s just a complete receiver, for sure,\u201d quarterback Keith Houser said. \u201cHe can hit the underneath stuff, he can hit the shot plays, he can make plays with the ball in his hands. He’s an all-around great receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 150 FBS-level receivers in the draft class who were targeted at least 40 times. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith ranked 13th with an average target distance of 15.1 yards and 15th with 16.5 yards per reception.<\/p>\n

He was tied for seventh in the draft class with 11 receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He was fifth with 44.2 yards per catch and tied for seventh with five touchdowns on those deep shots. Those numbers would have been much better if not for four drops on those long passes.<\/p>\n

He was not used on returns.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s brother, Evan Powell, is a defensive lineman at East Carolina.<\/p>\n

Packers Predraft Visits\"East<\/p>\n

East Carolina Pirates receiver Anthony Smith (17) makes a touchdown catch against Army in 2024. | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Tough-as-nails QB<\/a> | A top running back<\/a> | 99th percentile corner<\/a> | Rising Big Ten blocker<\/a> | Walk-on to NFL<\/a> | Round 3 pass rusher<\/a> | Hard-hitting linebacker<\/a> | Round 3 receiver<\/a><\/p>\n

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthony Smith, who put himself on the NFL map with two strong seasons at East Carolina, will have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2072],"tags":[7,41,345,2514,2513,6,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-857130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-green-bay-packers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-green-bay","10":"tag-green-bay-packers","11":"tag-greenbay","12":"tag-greenbaypackers","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-packers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116358705860464843","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857130","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=857130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}