Devonta Smith

[*Synric*]

Devonta Smith and Ja'Marr Chase are different receivers.

Smith was moved around all year to create space and matchups that allowed him to use his short area burst to get lots of YAC. In the Nation Championship two of Smith's touchdowns was him actually as an H-Back running flares out of the backfield.

Smith is a dynamic receiver but he would suffer if you lined him up on the boundary 80% of his snaps. Chase is the exact opposite. Ja'Marr Chase earned his stats as a primary boundary receiver he lined up as the Z or X on almost every snap.

Both receivers are elite but the Bengals need that outside boundary receiver to pair up with Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins Chase fits better than Smith.