SmashMouth

The New Orleans Saints’ second ranked passing offense just got better.

With 77 draft picks between their first and second selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, the defending NFC South champions had plenty of time to think about what they wanted to do, and when it was time to declare, made their intentions known.

Former Central Florida wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith is the newest Saint.

His new teammate, Michael Thomas, let him know that much is expected of him.

“It’s SUPER BOWL OR BUST,” Thomas tweeted after Smith’s selection. “LAST YEAR WAS THE WARMUP! QUOTE IT!”

A former three star recruit according to the 247Sports Composite, ranked by the service as the No. 20 overall player in the state of Florida, Smith redshirted in his first year at school and would eventually finish as their best scout player. In 2015, Smith caught 52 passes for 724 yards and four touchdowns despite the Knights not winning a game that season. The following year, he led the team with 57 catches for 852 yards and five touchdowns, and started 13 games in 2017, surpassing 1,000 yards in the air with 13 touchdown catches.

In his final season at school, Smith nearly averaged 20 yards per catch, and his 70.8 percent catch rate on deep passes was the second best mark among all collegiate receivers, according to Pro Football Focus. Of his catches in 2017, 78 percent went for a first down, a major element the Saints could exploit as they look to remedy their third down offensive success, a point of weakness last season.

Smith ranks second in career 100-yard receiving games (11), third in career touchdown receptions (22), is tied for fifth in career receptions (168), eighth in yards per reception with 16.4, and third in career receiving yards (2,748) in Central Florida history, according to the program’s records.

Of average height at 6-foot-2, and average weight, at 203 pounds, Smith makes up for a relative lack of size with speed, finishing with a 22.41 mph showing at the Senior Bowl, the fastest mark of all prospects at the event. At the NFL’s scouting combine, Smith ran the 40 yard dash in 4.49 seconds.

The Saints were more than patient waiting for their turn in the draft order, picking Smith up at No. 91 overall, well after making their initial selection at No. 14, when they drafted Marcus Davenport.

General manager Mickey Loomis said after drafting Smith that the team was unlikely to make any more trades to move up further after their landmark dealmaking on the draft’s first night.

“We pretty much shot our gun,” Loomis said of his trade in the first round.

Here are Smith’s strengths and weaknesses, according to NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein.

STRENGTHS: “Smooth accelerator with gliding strides... Has early acceleration to create sudden throwing windows against off man... Saw 78 percent of his catches go for a first down in 2017... Possesses rare arm length for a receiver... Flashes plus ball skills... Uses wingspan and leaping ability to consistently win the high point... Once defender is stacked, he won’t let them off the hook... Will down gear and find proper positioning when tracking underthrown deep balls... Has the ability to make necessary in air adjustments... Effective use of size as a blocker... Does his part to impact running game.”

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Beastmode

Actually Tre'Quan said he is not a speedster at all, not his thing. What he said was he likes to fight for the ball.

K Major

Wait Tre'Quan runs a sub 4.5 40 at the combine (4.49 to be exact) & he said "speed" isn't his thing? Ahh, he's just being humble.

The tape I've seen ... he has a deceptive second gear. Kind of like how Jerry Rice was. Let him get in front of you, it's over.

Depending on Cam Meredith's availability ... Tre can help in 2018.

Beastmode

He said it not me. He also did not seem humble at all talking about fighting for the ball.

ChrisXVI

If you watch Cameron Meredith’s 2016 tape and Tre’Quan Smith’s college tape, they’re the same player. Speedy, but their game isn’t reliant on their long speed.

Rugby Saint II

Cooks? Who's that? We've got a strong receiving core now.

homerj07

Watched this kid on tv most weeks. UCF is on a lot. He played well. Pretty darn good.