Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Smith-Marsette is a smooth athlete that has the potential to carve out a role for himself in the NFL sooner than later. He's not the most diverse route-runner, but he has a solid understanding of how to create separation within his routes and has good snap in his hips. Good, but not great, agility and ability to create separation through burst and acceleration. Solid hands. Dropped a couple of very tough catches on tape, but nothing that would be an indication of something greater. Able to hold onto the ball well through contact downfield, but was never really utilized over the middle of the field on the tape that I watched. Good RAC ability, but nothing outstanding. Good release off the line of scrimmage and knows how to lower his shoulder to create leverage and get on top of the defender. Was used heavily out of the slot at Iowa, but could be highly productive out of the slot in the NFL. Solid deep ball tracking ability. Wasn't able to adjust to underthrows - which happened frequently - but it's hard to put that blame on him. Really solid speed to get downfield from any position on the formation. Overall, Smith-Marsette is an intriguing name to monitor heading into the 2021 NFL Draft. Has the potential to make an impact at the next level if he gets an opportunity.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette totals two receptions for 12 yards in Preseason Week 1

Minnesota Vikings rookie WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette hauled in two-of-six targets for 12 yards during Saturday's 33-6 preseason Week 1 loss against the Denver Broncos.

Fantasy Impact

The rookie out of the University of Iowa only managed to catch two of his six targets for 12 yards but had an impressive 30-yard kickoff return, evading several defenders with impressive fluidity. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and could become a primary special teams contributor for the Vikings in 2021.