Jeremiah Smith NFL draft projection: 3 teams lining up to take Ohio State star in 2027

Ohio State dominated the previously undefeated Oregon Ducks en route to a 42-21 Rose Bowl victory, which means the Buckeyes are a win away from a National Championship appearance.

It's hard to overstate how thoroughly the Buckeyes won. The Ducks mounted a too-little, too-late flurry after halftime, but Ohio State was up 34-0 at one point. There hasn't been a more dominant offensive and defensive display all season when one considers the circumstances and the quality of the competition. Oregon is a good team, folks — we've seen it all season. That did not magically stop on Wednesday. Ohio State was simply that much better.

The star of the show was freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith, who gashed Oregon time and time again for seven receptions and 187 yards. That is 26.7 yards per catch, with Smith finding pay dirt twice on incredible deep catches.

He also did stuff like this.

Smith would probably be the No. 1 pick in a few months if he was eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. Alas, as a freshman, he won't be eligible until 2027, which means NFL front offices will need to wait a couple of years before pouncing on the best WR prospect in years.

Here are the teams who should be looking a few years down the road and crossing their fingers.

3. Tennessee Titans

It's unclear when the Tennessee Titans will be good again. The Will Levis experience has not panned out, which puts the Titans in the market for a top quarterback prospect. If Tennessee pounces on Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, however, the next step is clear — putting viable weapons around their cornerstone QB.

It'll take a while, but Jeremiah Smith is the sort of difference-maker that can set a franchise on the right path. The Titans clearly regret firing Mike Vrabel. The offense has been a complete dumpster fire under Brian Callahan, which is troubling when Callahan was hired based on his resume as the engineer of football's most explosive passing attack in Cincinnati.

Whether it's Sanders or Ward, Will Levis, or some bridge quarterback the front office acquires out of desperation, the Titans will have every reason to target Smith. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Smith just moves differently than the college DBs tasked with containing him. He's bigger, faster, stronger, smarter, and his hands are soft as silk once the football is in the vicinity.

Calvin Ridley isn't around for a particularly good or long time, and Tennessee's WR room gets dire once you move beyond him. So, Titans fans should keep an eye on Smith, whom they should be familiar with after his obliteration of their Vols in the College Football Playoff.

2. Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are better this season. Dave Canales has figured something out and Bryce Young, despite appearances, may actually be the franchise quarterback. Few teams embody the virtues of patience and small victories quite like this Carolina squad.

That said, it's unclear how high this team can rise over the next couple of years. Young looks far better than he did a year ago, but the limitations inherent to his lack of size and strength remain omnipresent in Panthers prognostication. Moreover, the Panthers just don't have much actual NFL talent around Young.

One has to imagine the next few years will be dedicated to seeing if this group, with this coach, can actually get somewhere. Should Carolina end up around the top of draft boards in 2027, however, Smith makes for an easy target. Xavier Legette has clear NFL traits, but he's not WR1 on a contender. Smith is that difference-maker, with an uncommon gravitational pull that ought to translate to the next level.

If Young can lob it up the sideline and trust Smith to come down with it, even in heavy traffic, that changes the trajectory of his career and the ceiling of this Panthers offense, full stop. Carolina has a lot to figure out over the next few years. Smith would help immensely.

1. Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Antonio Pierce won over the locker room as interim head coach and instilled a real sense of optimism around the franchise, only for Las Vegas to completely fall apart in 2024. It's not all Pierce's fault — he is the victim of rampant front office incompetence — but all the same, Las Vegas can no longer feel certain about Pierce's viability as the organizational frontman.

To make matters worse, the roster is in a bad spot. There are a few mild highlights, such as Maxx Crosby's sustained excellence on the defensive line and Brock Bowers' emergence as an all-time productive rookie, but the Raiders' depth chart sports more holes than a colander.

It starts at quarterback, where Las Vegas is still searching for a long-term answer. Tom Brady is expected to play a role in recruiting and shepherding the Raiders' next quarterback, whether it's an exciting rookie like Shedeur Sanders, or a milquetoast veteran in the Sam Darnold or, god forbid, Aaron Rodgers vein.

Assuming Las Vegas kinda, sorta figures out its QB situation by 2027, expect Smith to become a top priority on draft night. Bowers is on track for a uniquely dominant career at tight end, but the Raiders still need that explosive vertical threat to kick the offense into high gear. Adorning any offense with Smith and Bowers is a good way to ensure quarterback success.