New York Jets rookie wide receiver Arian Smith struggled to catch the football during his final season at Georgia.
He was the “only Power 4 player with double-digit drops in 2024 (four came downfield, two on intermediate routes, four within 10 yards of the line),” Dane Brugler revealed in “The Beast.”
On Friday, May 9, during his rookie minicamp media availability, Smith answered five questions in a row about his drop issues.
“[The drop questions] are very motivating. I’m not the type of person who never runs from stuff I did. Whether I earned it or it’s my fault, I’m not the type of person who makes excuses for anything, so it’s definitely good motivation,” Smith explained.
#Jets rookie WR Arian Smith had 10 dropped passes last year at Georgia, he was the only Power 4 player with double digit drops last season, per @dpbrugler in ‘The Beast.’
Smith said all the conversations about his drops is motivating & something he isn’t hiding from, ‘I’m not… pic.twitter.com/KOB5jpU4a6
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) May 9, 2025
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Smith’s Drop Issues Are Serious
A prerequisite for playing the wide receiver position is catching the football. That is something Smith struggled with this past season.
“10 drops in 2024, I mean that is a 16.7% drop rate on catchable targets. That is one of the worst rates in college football – not in the draft, in college football,” NBC Sports draft analyst Connor Rogers said on the Bleacher Report live stream.
The #Jets taking Georgia WR Arian Smith No. 110 overall in the fourth round did NOT receive rave reviews… 😅@ConnorJRogers: ‘This is a massive reach’ + ‘I thought this was a 6th round player.’@DP_NFL: ‘The drops are a legitimate problem with him.’
According to @dpbrugler in… pic.twitter.com/GDMGwQo1Jn
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) April 26, 2025
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“I would probably say focus,” Smith said when asked what was the cause of the drops in college. “It’s not necessarily technique because there is no special technique for catching the ball, you just gotta catch it. I feel like it’s focus and me being worried about other things than catching the ball.”
Smith was at Georgia for five seasons. He was used sparingly as a situational player through his first four seasons. During that stretch, he caught 20 receptions for 539 receiving yards, and he scored six touchdowns.
However, in his final season, Smith had a career campaign. He finished with 48 catches for 817 receiving yards and scored four touchdowns.
“Just like how you work on anything else, I would say you put time into it and you be intentional on it,” Smith said when asked how he plans on fixing his drop problem.
A media member asked if all of this attention on his drops adds more pressure.
“I get unwanted pressure daily, so it wouldn’t be healthy for me to put unneeded pressure on myself. Nah, I play free and just worry about things I can control – and catching the ball is one of those, so,” Smith responded with a smile.
Jets reporter Nick Faria said if Smith can be more consistent catching the football, he has a clear path to being the WR2 behind Garrett Wilson.
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