Hype for 2027 NFL Draft grows with Jeremiah Smith-Calvin Johnson comparison

Draftniks already can't stop discussing the 2027 NFL Draft, which is set to be held in Washington, D.C., in late April. 

It's a class with a slew of stars, including Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), who may be the best prospect at the position ...ever. 

The Ringer's Todd McShay compares Jeremiah Smith to former Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson

During a Wednesday episode of his podcast, McShay shared how Smith stacks up against elite WR prospects. The longtime draft guru noted he has given Smith a better predraft grade than Cincinnati Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase, seven-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green and Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. 

Johnson — a Pro Football Hall of Famer — is the one wide receiver McShay had a higher grade on than Smith. But he noted that could change after the 2026 season. 

"I literally think he could be the best wide receiver of all time," McShay said of Smith.

Will Jeremiah Smith live up to the hype? 

Like Smith, Harrison, the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, was billed as a generational prospect. He has struggled to live up to those expectations in his first two seasons with the Cardinals, logging 1,493 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches but making no Pro Bowls. 

However, Harrison, who won the 2023 Biletnikoff Award as the best WR in college football, has suggested Smith is the more talented prospect, comparing him to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.

"I think he's the LeBron James of college football," Harrison said of Smith on "THE podcast" in March 2025. "The talent is out the roof, who he is as a person, his character, there is no limit for him. He can do whatever he wants to do. Every record there is at Ohio State, he's gonna have it."

Smith could rewrite the Ohio State record books this season. Through two seasons with the Buckeyes, he had 163 receptions for 2,558 yards and 27 TD catches. He needs 43 receptions to become the school's leader in receptions, 311 receiving yards to become the leader in receiving yards and nine touchdown catches to break that record.

Figure on him shattering those marks. The WR, who earned a 2025 first-team All-American nod, should be even more productive in his second season playing with quarterback Julian Sayin. 

Now, as for the comparisons to "Megatron," time will tell if Smith reaches those heights during his NFL career. In a story published in August 2025, Fox Sports Research listed Johnson, who holds the record for most receiving yards in a season (1,964 in 16 games in 2012), as the No. 5 WR in NFL history. Former San Francisco 49ers star Jerry Rice — the NFL's all-time leader in TD catches (197) — was No. 1. 

But Smith is already drawing comparisons to HOFers before the season even begins in late August, which shows why the 2027 class is so highly anticipated.