Quinnen Williams Wants the Jets to Draft DeVonta Smith With the No. 2 Pick

If Jets general manager Joe Douglas let Quinnen Williams make draft decisions, New York would be adding a Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 2 overall pick. 

The defensive tackle told TMZ Sports that he’s hoping New York will take his fellow Alabama alum with the second pick in the 2021 NFL draft. 

“I’m wishin’!” he said. “I’m saying it right now, I’m wishin’!”

Williams isn’t the only one that thinks New York should go with Smith. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said recently that he believes the Jets should go with the wideout and bolster their offense with an “ultra weapon” like Smith. 

The defensive tackle spent two seasons at Alabama and was the No. 3 pick in the draft in 2018. Smith stayed with the Crimson Tide for four years, developing into one of the best wide receivers that the nation has seen in quite some time. 

Historically, wide receivers don’t get picked as high as Smith would be if the Jets give Williams his wish. In fact, the last wideout to be selected second in the draft was Calvin Johnson back in 2007. 

Should the Jets Draft DeVonta Smith With the Second Overall Pick?

In addition to the numbers from his remarkable campaign this year, and his proven ability to pick secondaries apart with his speed and playmaking ability, Williams wants Smith on the Jets for this reason.

“Devonta Smith got that ‘Bama in him,” Williams said. “We need someone with that. Man, he’s amazing.”

Smith played in only the first half of last week’s national championship and still put on a show. He had 215 receiving yards, three touchdowns and 12 catches before exiting the game early with a dislocated finger. In 2020 overall, Smith led the nation in receiving yards (1,856), receptions (117) and touchdowns (23). 

Adding Smith to a group of wide receivers that already includes Jamison Crowder and Denzel Mims certainly has the potential to make New York more potent on offense. Douglas and new head coach Robert Saleh have their hands full, however, in figuring out what to do at quarterback.

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New York may stick with Sam Darnold as he enters his fourth season in the league or draft a quarterback with the second pick. That would be either Ohio State’s Justin Fields or BYU’s Zach Wilson as Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence will almost certainly be taken off the board with the first overall selection. 

Ask Williams and the defensive tackle thinks Smith would fit in perfectly in an offense with Darnold under center. Then again, he explained that Smith will excel in the NFL no matter what team drafts him.

“Any team that gets him, not even the Jets, any team that gets him they’ll be getting a dominant player,” Williams said. “And, you can see that now … If we get him, he’s going to be a dynamic attribute for Sam.”

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