DeVonta Smith Thought He Was Going To Be Drafted By The Giants
DeVonta Smith is set to play in the Super Bowl with Philadelphia this weekend. Except it almost didn’t happen. We are living in an alternate universe out there somewhere where Smith is a New York Giant. If the Eagles didn’t trade up on draft day, Smith would be wearing Giant blue.
“I knew it was going to be New York,” Smith said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “If Philly didn’t trade up, I was going to be in New York. It was kind of a no-brainer. People on the coaching staff were on the coaching staff at Alabama when I was there or getting recruited, so that’s how I knew it.”
That trade between the Eagles and Cowboys turned into a rare win-win for both sides. Had Philly not traded up, they likely would have reached on a receiver at 12. Maybe Kadarius Toney or Rashod Bateman. Those were the next time receivers were taken in that 2021 NFL Draft. Philadelphia was determined to right the wrongs of the past by drafting JJ Arcega White-Side and Jalen Reagor. Landing Smith even if it meant trading up to do so had to be done.
Nobody ever talks about this but somehow the Cowboys traded down and still landed Micah Parsons. What’s even crazier is the fact that San Francisco could have sat there at 12 and landed Parsons.
It wasn’t all bad for the Giants either. That number 11 pick in 2021 was dealt to the Bears in the Justin Fields trade. New York was able to land Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal the following year. In fact, I’m not sure any team really lost this exchange. The 2021 NFL Draft was just that loaded… unless you reached for a quarterback. If you look back at the draft grades I gave out at the time, I’m not sure you would even change them around.
