Another season, another receiver rising under the tutelage of Drew Brees and Sean Payton. Tre’Quan Smith has been hovering around a 70% snap share since a week 4 injury to Ted Ginn. Things didn’t look good for the rookie’s usage after the Saints went out of their way to sign Dez Bryant. They looked even worse after the team signed the corpse of Brandon Marshall following Bryant’s achilles injury.

And it’s possible New Orleans authentically felt the need for external help at the receiver position. It’s hard to question a team with Super Bowl aspirations for being hesitant to lean on a rookie. Be that as it may, the Saints are among the best teams at drafting skill position players who make an immediate impact. Both Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara produced at an elite level in their rookie seasons. The common denominator is an all time great quarterback and head coach tandem.

That’s what stops Smith from being another D.J. Moore, Calvin Ridley, or Christian Kirk; rookie receivers who flash one week and fall off the map the next. Outside of Michael Thomas, his remaining competition consists of aforementioned Brandon “Corpse” Marshall, Austin Carr, and Cam Meredith. Not a lot there. As a result, the UCF product will be the third option behind Thomas and whomever between Kamara and Mark Ingram take the field

While the above is entirely speculation and projection, this catch is not:

It’s plays like this that earn a quarterback’s trust. According to Smith, that’s exactly what occurred. Following the touchdown, the rookie receiver claims his future Hall of Fame quarterback approached him with a message:

“He was like, ‘Why do you think I threw you the ball? I trust you,’” Smith said. “And [being] a rookie, that just made me so happy inside.”

On the afternoon, Smith accumulated 13 targets, caught 10 of them, scored a touchdown, and carved the Eagles’ shattered secondary to the tune of 157 receiving yards.

To take off my analyst hat for a second: This guy is good. His arms are long as heck, he’s tall, explosive, and fights for yardage after the catch. It looks easy for him. His athletic superiority makes him a matchup nightmare for secondaries already terrorized by Michael Thomas. And while Thomas can literally shoot lightning bolts from his fingertips, he’s ideally complemented by a receiver who challenges defenses downfield. Tre’Quan Smith is top-15 in yards per target and yards per reception. He averaged 17.4 yards per reception in college. I can’t say enough about how perfect this fit is.

(Note: Tre’Quan Smith has been held out of practice this week with a foot ailment and is questionable for Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.)