COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At Ohio State's Pro Day in March, Devin Smith wanted to prove to NFL teams he could run other routes, but there was at least one time when his route didn't wind up where he intended it to.

Walking off the field after his workout, Smith was headed to talk to a Browns staffer on the sideline when he was pulled aside for a few minutes of questions with reporters.

It was then that Smith explained why he wanted to focus on route-running that day and not try to flash his speed again in another 40.

Then he got back to the Browns. This week, Smith could continue his path toward Cleveland.

The Browns have drafted one Ohio State player in the last 12 years, and when they did, it was taking a second-round shot on a supposed deep threat. Receiver Brian Robiskie went to the Browns with the fourth pick of the second round, at No. 36 overall, in 2009. Three seasons later he was gone, with 39 catches, 441 yards and three touchdowns as a Brown.

Not much of a payoff.

Now another deep ball threat from Columbus could be on the board when the Browns pick in the second round Friday, with the No. 43 overall pick. And this selection could make a lot more sense.

Because this guy really is a deep threat.

"He's the best at tracking a deep ball I've ever seen," ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said of Smith on a recent conference call with reporters.

At the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and pro day, Smith wanted to prove to potential employers that he was more than just a deep threat, more than just a track guy with speed and hops who turned that into a nation's best 28.2 yards per catch last season. So his focus at pro day was route-running and making catches on short and intermediate routes with his hands.

"There were a few teams that wanted to see it," Smith said, "and a lot of other teams that know I can run all the other routes. It's just a matter of me coming out and just doing it."

But how much does Smith really need to show?

In what most draft analysts view as a deep crop of receivers, Smith isn't at the level of Alabama's Amari Cooper, West Virginia's Kevin White or Louisville's DeVante Parker. He is in the next crowd of catch-passing prospects, and with a singular skill that stands out.

He may not need to show that he's a perfectly well-rounded receiver who can be a go-to guy on third-and-7. Because he's already shown that he can scare people.

"What he can do is bring stress to a defense," CBSSports.com NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler said. "He can really make defenses respect what he can do. Even if he's not catching 50-yard bombs every game, he makes a defense respect that he can do on any given play."

Clearly, Smith wants to be more than that, and he could develop a larger role in the NFL as he gains experience. In college, his 30 career touchdowns rank second in Ohio State history, while his 121 career catches are tied for 11th.

He wasn't an every-down guy, he was a big-play guy. And he was frustrated in the middle of the Buckeyes season that he wasn't getting thrown to more often. By the postseason, he thought he could have been viewed as a guy like Cooper, as the Buckeyes prepared to play Alabama, if he had been the focal point of the offense.

He wasn't that. What he was, as it turned out, was the best in college football at what he did best.

Maybe the Browns could use that.

With Brian Hartline, Dwayne Bowe and Andrew Hawkins on the roster, our Tom Reed in a breakdown Saturday didn't ask where the Browns could get their 7-yard gains in the pass game. He asked where the touchdown catches were going to come from?

Maybe from the guy who caught 12 last season.

If the Browns don't take a receiver in the first round, Smith should definitely be on their radar if he's still there in the second round. And he very well may be. Smith should come off the board somewhere between pick No. 30 and pick No. 60, and at No. 43, the timing could be perfect.

Smith said he was trying to "hush the critics of me being able to run only one route," but if he landed in Cleveland, no one there would have to be worried about those other routes right off the bat.

They'd want a player who is an accomplished high jumper, who can run a 4.4 40 and who knows how to use that speed.

"Some guys are fast off the line, some guys have the 40, but Smith is spectacular in that final 20 yards," Brugler said. "He knows not only how to get off the line but separate late in his routes."

At Pro Day, Smith found his way to the Browns. When the second round of the draft starts Friday, maybe the Browns will find their way to Smith.