Cowboys 2026 draft: Anthony Smith scouting report
With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the history books, we are creating scouting reports for some of the players the Dallas Cowboys drafted that we haven’t covered, including the undrafted free agent class. Today we are looking at wide receiver Anthony Smith from East Carolina.
Anthony Smith
WR
East Carolina Pirates
Senior
3-star rating
6’2”
192 lbs
History
Anthony Smith is from Huntingtown, Maryland and came up as a late-blooming football player with elite track speed. In 2020 at N.C. State, he played eight games and flashed as a deep threat in a small role. He registered five catches for 69 yards and one touchdown,
In 2021, Smith appeared in all 12 games and stayed a low-volume explosive-play specialist with four catches, 97 yards, one touchdown, with a 42-yard touchdown versus Furman. In 2022, his season was cut short by injury and missed the last eight games, and in 2023, he played 10 games in a reserve role and finished with two catches for 19 yards.
He transferred to East Carolina and immediately became a featured vertical target in 2024. He started all 13 games and produced 41 catches, 799 yards, and six touchdowns with multiple 100-yard games. Then in 2025, he made the full leap to go-to receiver for East Carolina with 65 catches, 1,053 yards, seven touchdowns, plus a 45-yard rushing touchdown at Temple. His signature moment was the 2025 Military Bowl, where he won Military Bowl MVP after a bowl-record 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches.
2025 Statistics
786 Offensive Snaps
100 Targets
64 Receptions
1,053 Receiving Yards
81 Rec YPG
8 Total TDs
376 YAC
6 Dropped Passes
6 Missed Tackles Forced
40 First Downs
110.1 Passer RTG When Targeted
4 Penalties
Snap by Position
Wideout- 91%
Slot- 9%
NFL Combine/Pro Day
Awards
2025: First-Team All-American Athletic Conference
Military Bowl MVP
Scorecard
Overall– 51.8
Speed- 93
Acceleration- 96
Agility- 80
Strength- 56
Catching- 69
Route Running- 69
Ball Tracking- 80
YAC Skills- 76
Blocking- 56
Discipline- 90
THE GOOD
- Elite vertical speed
- Acceleration and burst is off the charts
- Explosive-play production
- True chunk-play specialist
- Ball tracking is very good on deep shots
- Useful size for a deep threat
- Competitive toughness and plays through contact
- Willing special teams contributor
THE BAD
- Inconsistent hands
- Unfinished route tree
- Needs more separation craft at the top of routes
- Struggles against physical press man defensive backs
- Late breakout player with little production at N.C. State
- Special teams role is projection, not proven
- Played six years of college and already 24 years of age
THE FIT
Smith’s best fit is as a situational vertical field-stretcher and core special teamer. He’s the guy you dress on game day to clear out coverage, run takeoff routes, deep overs, and punish single-high looks when defenses tilt to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Smith will compete for the WR4/WR5 position.
SUMMARY
Anthony Smith is a straight-line burner and vertical weapon whose NFL value starts with speed and ends with spacing. He stresses safeties, forces corners to turn and run, and opens room underneath for a primary target while also providing one-play explosive upside on go routes.
His ECU tape shows he can track the ball well downfield, stack defenders when he gets a clean release, finish big plays, and his background as an elite sprinter shows up in how quickly he eats cushion. The limitations are typical for late-round speed receivers. He’s not a refined route technician yet, can be disrupted by physical press and re-routes, and the day-to-day consistency is what determines whether he becomes more than a situational field-stretcher.
The projection is a WR4/5 type who earns his game-day helmet via special teams and speed packages, with the upside to grow into a rotational deep threat if his route craft and play strength develop.
PRO COMPARISON
Darius Slayton
BTB OVERALL RANKING
N/A
CONSENSUS OVERALL RANKING
313th
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services, including BTB)
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