Jaguars legend Jimmy Smith talks about current NFL wide receivers

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a Hall of Fame-worthy wide receiver in Jimmy Smith, and if someone knows one thing or two about playing the position in the NFL, it’s him, so it’s always interesting to see what he has to say about the subject.

Smith recently joined the Matt Lombardo Show and among many things, he talked about some current NFL wide receivers, his biggest influence during his playing days, and what it takes to play the position.

Smith told Matt Lombardo of FanSided that Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith reminds him of Marvin Harrison — just by the look of him — describes him as a strider and suggests he put on some weight if he wants to succeed in the NFL.

Smith adds that one thing working in the Alabama product’s favor is the fact he will reunite with teammate Jalen Hurts, as the pair won’t have to work on their timing and bonding since they previously played together. Smith says the same is true for Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Wadle, who will also reunite with quarterback Tua Tagovailo.

Who helped this Jacksonville Jaguars legend become great?

Later in the conversation with Lombardo, Smith touched on his time with the Dallas Cowboys, the team that drafted him 36th overall in the 1992 NFL Draft, and the impact wide receiver Michael Irvin had on him.

"Michael Irvin is who I learned from. The mentality, the competitiveness that Michael Irvin displayed, the leadership in the locker room, the passion, the love for the game. It was great to experience that in 92′, in 93′, the two Super Bowl runs I was a part of."

Smith also talks about how fortunate he was to land in Jacksonville, where he started to develop as a player, mastering some of the stuff he learned from Irvin. He says he wasn’t originally happy to be the number three receiver but ended up looking at all the positives and recounts the time wide receiver Andre Rison approached him and told him he had 365 different moves. What was Smith’s reaction? “I want to see all 365 moves’.

Learning from Irvin and Rison helped Smith develop certain skills and strengths that allowed him to become the player he was. Moreover, he says that playing with Rison and Irvin taught him that playing in the NFL was a privilege and a blessing, something that should never be taken for granted. Also, Smith praised Irvin’s work ethic, saying that even though he wasn’t the fastest wide receiver, he worked harder than everybody. “I was going to work harder than everybody and eventually, it will pay off”.

Former Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith weighs on the Cowboys wide receivers.

Speaking of the Cowboys, Smith has no doubt wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is going to be one of the top receivers in the league. On the other hand, he wishes Amari Cooper showed more effort, as the lack of effort gets under Smith’s skin and thinks that his salary isn’t proportional to his production.

Smith sees Lamb as the number-one wide receiver and thinks he’s going to get better. He then throws a subtle jab at Cooper and says that “the Oklahoma product is going to make other guys that are being paid more than him expendable”. The Jaguars legend adds that having Dak Prescott back will help the Cowboys’ offense.