Jets rookie Arian Smith ready to put drops issue behind him

Jets rookie wide receiver Arian Smith has heard the talk.

The pre-draft evaluations of Smith all talked about how he had world-class speed, but dropped too many passes.

Smith, a fourth-round pick out of Georgia, is ready to answer his critics.

“It’s very motivating,” Smith said Friday on the first day of the Jets rookie minicamp. “I’m not the type of person that ever runs from stuff I did. Whether I earned it, whether it’s my fault, I’m not the type of person who makes excuses on anything. It definitely gives me motivation.”

Smith had 48 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns for the Bulldogs last year but he also had 10 drops.

It is the biggest knock on Smith, who is a former track star at Georgia who ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

As Smith said, he is not running from the issue.

He acknowledges he has to do better and said the solution is to “put time into it.”

“I’d probably say focus,” Smith said when asked what has led to the drops. “It’s not necessarily technique because there’s no special technique for catching a ball. I feel like it’s focus and me worrying about other things than catching the ball.”

Only a small portion of Friday’s practice was open to the media.

During that session, Smith made a nice catch across the middle on a hard-thrown ball that was a little behind him.

He made another catch on an outside route.

The speed he brings is obvious. He could add a dimension the Jets have lacked on offense for several years.

The Jets have needed someone who can stretch the field.

Smith is out to prove he can do more than just run by people.

“I strive to be an all-around receiver,” Smith said. “Speed is my strength but I can be so much better than just speed. That’s what I want to be.”

Smith walked away from track in 2023 to focus solely on football.

“I gave up track just because of the workload,” Smith said. “To be good at something, you’ve got to put time into it. It ain’t just going to happen overnight for me to be a more whole receiver. I have to put all of my time, all of my everything into it. I felt like I was shorting myself in that area. I knew that I wanted to play football on the next level and hopefully win a Super Bowl one day and help teams win and make big plays.”

Smith did not face NFL veterans on Friday.

It was just rookies and some players who were on the practice squad last year. But Smith said he is excited to face NFL players who will push him.

“I love good competition,” he said. “I love people that can run with me because it makes me work harder and strive to be faster because I don’t want to be the person that’s running down the field and somebody’s just running with me. I want to be the person that always gets open and gets separation.”

Smith said Friday’s practice was one of the best days of his life and he called it a “surreal moment” knowing he is one step closer to living out his dream of playing in the NFL.

“Yesterday, when I got here, seeing my name on my locker. I was just like, ‘damn, that’s crazy. That’s my last name,’ ” Smith said. “I sent a picture to my mom and my family and they were excited, too.”

The Jets have 12 tryout players in rookie camp.

One of them is Giovanni Williams, the younger brother of Jets stars Quinnen and Quincy Williams.

Giovanni played two years at Texas A&M-Kingsville before finishing his final two years of college at Miles in Alabama.

He had 100 tackles and four sacks in his college career.