It didn't take long for Marvin Harrison to establish himself in the NFL, going for 836 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season in 1996. Three years later, he was a first-team All-Pro selection with a league-high 1,663 yards. Two years after that, he was joined by Reggie Wayne, who witnessed some of the best years in Harrison's career throughout the early 2000s. Just look at some of these outputs from Harrison once Wayne was playing alongside him on the Colts:
Why ever does this matter? I'm glad you asked. It just so happens that a wideout in the 2021 NFL Draft class has been compared to Harrison on more than one occasion: DeVonta Smith. One scout told Bob McGinn of The Athletic that he couldn't "recall anyone changing direction" like Smith could, and that it was "a little like Marvin Harrison." USA Today's Mark Schofield listed Harrison as Smith's lone NFL comparison, saying that "both are silky-smooth route runners with great feel for leverage and 'full body route running.'" And it's quite possible that Wayne sees something similar in Smith as well, or at least acknowledges how dangerous a player of that mold can be.
Soon after Smith was selected by the Eagles, who traded up to the No. 10 spot in order to snag him, Wayne joined the Bleacher Report Draft Show and immediately gave his quick thoughts on Smith (h/t Adam Hermann of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
"DeVonta Smith was my No. 1 receiver on the board," Wayne said. "I know everyone was big on Ja'Marr Chase, and I was too, but DeVonta Smith? You're talking about a grown man who's only 165 pounds, DeVonta Smith is your guy. He can do it all. He can run all the routes. Listen, there's a lot of knock on him because he's small, but guess what? By far, every time he stepped on the field last year, and some of 2019, he was the best player on the field. That little guy, I don't want to hear no more talk about his weight. He let everybody know throughout the combine process, we're not bodybuilders, we're football players. This dude is a football player. Special, special, special. Eagles fans, you got you a dynamic playmaker.
"...I'm telling you here, you heard it here first: this is the Rookie of the Year. DeVonta Smith."
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That's some high praise from a potential Hall of Fame wideout, and it's even cooler to hear it from a guy who played alongside the all-time great to which Smith is often being compared. But it's also possible that Smith isn't meant to have an NFL comparison and can carve out his own niche in Philadelphia, creating a new breed of undersized, technically sound, lightning quick receiver that hasn't yet been established in the game.
If we're being real, here, Eagles fans probably couldn't care less if he's like another receiver or if he's his own breed. As long as he produces, that's all that matters, and all signs point to that being the case.
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