Rookie Spotlight: Aniais Smith, WR Texas A&M

Height: 5-9
Weight: 191
Hands: 8 5/8″
Arm: 29 1/4″
40 yard dash: 4.48 (projected)
2024 Age: 23 (5/31/01)
NFL Comparison: Amari Rodgers, Demetric Felton, Lynn Bowden
Breakout Age: 19 (sophomore)

Offensive Market Share Metrics (Final Season)

Receptions: 19%
Receiving Yards: 23%
Receiving TDs: 8%
Total Production Percentage: 17%

As a high school prospect: Class of 2019; 3-star

Pros

– versatile all-around weapon with versatility to help an offense in multiple ways

– not the tallest, but sturdy with good body mass index

– great lateral agility and ability to navigate traffic through jumps and cuts after-catch

– broke out as a true sophomore in the SEC on an A&M team that had lots of future NFL talent (Isaiah Spiller, De’Von Achane, Jalen Wydermeyer, etc.)

– sure-handed with excellent framing ability when addressing the ball (only 1 drop in 2023)

– extremely tough with the ball in his hands, does not shy away from contact

– used a lot out of the backfield as a runner to start Aggie career, has an RB’s mindset as a ball carrier along with lower-body strength and leg drive

– 6.7 yards after catch per reception in 2023 – fast enough to be dangerous, not a total burner but more than enough requisite speed

Cons

– not the most impressive catch radius

– season-ending leg fracture in 2022

– profiles purely out of the slot and as a gadget-man in the NFL

– has the change-of-direction and lateral agility to be a great route-runner but isn’t there yet

– fearless, but not a contested-catch asset

Fantasy Outlook: Ainias Smith has a very interesting type of skillset that brings with it excitement for what he could be as a pro, but also a bit of uncertainty. Even though he has terrific hands and next-level lateral agility and quicks, you could certainly see an NFL team seeing him as a novelty-type of weapon due to the fact that he has made some of his most impressive flashes through college in the traditional running game. He looks like some of the receiver comps mentioned above mixed with a dash of De’Von Achane. When you say it like that, though, you can also envision really big things, especially when factoring in the impressive breakout age against SEC competition and also internal competition at A&M for touches. Curtis Samuel is an immediate type of potential NFL usage/production comp that comes to mind, although Smith will likely not test with the same straight-line speed as Samuel. However, this type of potential role, depending on team fit and draft capital allocated, could very likely result in a late-round 2 or early-round 3 type of rookie draft profile in traditional leagues, with leeway to move up or down from there given the discussed variables (team fit, NFL draft slotting, performance at the Senior Bowl, etc).