6x Pro Bowler Urges $10.4B NFL Team to Draft Jeremiah Smith After Ohio State WR Breaks Another Record

Ohio State picked up a road win over Iowa on Saturday. The afternoon turned into another record-breaking game for Jeremiah Smith. He rewrote more of the Buckeyes’ receiving history, and that set up a claim from a familiar voice.

No. 5 Ohio State beat No. 14 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. Julian Sayin finished with 20-of-27 for 324 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Two of those scores went to Smith, which gave Chad Johnson an opening to separate the passer from the player receiving the ball.

The six-time Pro Bowler tied two ideas together in one breath. He pushed Smith for the Heisman and pointed him toward the $10.4 billion Miami Dolphins. Smith grew up in Miami Gardens, only a few miles from Hard Rock Stadium, so the link was not new.

“Joe, he’s coming to Miami. You hear me? Going to win the Heisman now. Listen, it’d be highway robbery,” Johnson said to “Iso Joe” Johnson on the Nightcap show. “I know Sayin is playing well. Sayin has to throw the ball, but you know what has a hard part is the person on the other end of those passes; that’s the more difficult part.”

Smith was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class, and Miami stayed in the race the whole way. He made around 10 visits, and Cam Ward tried to recruit him. On signing day in December 2023, Smith and his father came close to flipping from Ohio State. His father later said Jeremiah wanted to “gamble on myself,” but they chose the Buckeyes as the safer long-term path. 

The connection returned in the 2026 offseason. Smith said suitors, including Miami, were offering “over 10 million dollars, easy” to enter the portal. He turned it down because “I wasn’t going back home” and it “didn’t make sense.” The same hometown story that has followed Smith since high school now pointed at the Dolphins.

Meanwhile, Miami entered 2026 with a thinner receiver room after Tyreek Hill was released and Jaylen Waddle was traded. The group leaned on younger options such as Malik Washington, Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas, and Kevin Coleman Jr. A 6-foot-4, 220-pound receiver already leading the country in yards and touchdowns would fill the skill-position hole. 

Through five games, Smith leads the FBS in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He is also only a few scores from Braylon Edwards’ Big Ten career receiving-touchdown mark. 

Smith became Ohio State’s career receptions leader with 206, passing Emeka Egbuka’s 205. He also became the first Buckeye with back-to-back 200-yard receiving games and tied Marvin Harrison Jr. with 15 career games of 100 or more yards.

Against Iowa, Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. One of the grabs was a 57-yard touchdown, and Smith hit the Heisman pose right after it. 

“You’ve just got to [let] the Heisman voters or whoever it is know that I’m the best player in the country,” Smith said after the game. “I’ve got to be there.” He had used the same celebration earlier against Ball State, so the Iowa version felt like a deliberate reminder. 

A receiver winning the award would still be rare. Only four players primarily identified as wide receivers have taken the Heisman. Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska in 1972, Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1987, Desmond Howard of Michigan, and DeVonta Smith of Alabama in 2020. 

Smith is draft-eligible in 2027 and is viewed as a top prospect, with some boards placing him as a possible No. 1 overall pick. A receiver at No. 1 would be rare, as Keyshawn Johnson in 1996 was the last wide receiver taken first overall. 

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