NFL Draft Profile: WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Auburn

His one season with the Tigers could be an outlier, but receiver has a good skill set that might make him attractive on Day 3.

The Cleveland Browns are expected to double the talent level at wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft by selecting Colorado’s Travis Hunter to pair with Jerry Jeudy.

That one-two punch will be supported by wide receiver Cedric Tillman as a decent third option, as long as Tillman can stay healthy.

After that? Well, the position is not particularly robust, unless you are a big fan of Michael Woods II, David Bell, Jamari Thrash, James Proche, or Jaelon Darden.

If general manager Andrew Berry is interested in improving on that depth, especially late on Day 3, then Auburn’s KeAndre Lambert-Smith is a name to keep in mind.

Name: KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Position: Wide receiver

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds

College: Auburn

2024 stats: 12 games, 50 receptions, 981 receiving yards, 19.6 yards per receptions, 8 touchdowns

Career stats: 60 games, 176 receptions, 2,702 yards, 15.4 yards per reception, 19 touchdowns

Relative Athletic Score: Scored a 9.03 RAS out of a possible 10. Ranks No. 372 out of 3,815 wide receivers from 1987 to 2025.

Average “Big Board” Position as of Publishing Date from Mock Draft Database: 243rd overall/Undrafted free agent

The Draft Network’s Grade/Round Value: Day 3 – Developmental traits

What an Expert is Saying

Lance Zierlein at NFL.com:

Slender wideout whose 2024 production at Auburn is unlikely to translate to the league. He lacks suddenness and play strength to breeze into routes. He’s also unable to get in and out of breaks quickly enough to keep defenders from staying connected to his routes. Lambert-Smith is good at tracking and adjusting to make plays downfield, but he might not have enough pure speed to major in vertical routes.

What an Expert is Saying (Bonus Round):

Daniel Harms at The Draft Network:

Seeing most of his time as an outside receiver, Lambert-Smith has a prototypical Z-receiver frame at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, with room to add more muscle if he chooses. He’s a quick player off the line of scrimmage, but developing and fine-tuning more releases into his routine will open up access to more routes and separation. He eats up space quickly in his stem, sells vertically well, and can gear down on curls to send defenders upfield while he works back to the football. Physicality through the route stem can throw off his timing, but he’s willing to work through contact to get to his route. He ran a limited tree at Auburn, but the physical tools to run a full tree are there with Lambert-Smith, and he shows a good understanding of how to sit down in zone and find soft spots.

His transitions can be leggy to the top of routes, but he can decelerate cleanly and break to the middle of the field. Improving his hand usage through the stem and at the top of the route will also aid in more separation. While he has body catches on his tape, he’s got a great catch radius and ball skills to make contested catches downfield and through contact. He’s a good athlete with the ball tracking to find the football over his shoulder and make adjustments at all levels of the field.

He’s better with the ball in his hands than you’d think based on how Auburn used him, with a good understanding of space, twitch, and burst to exploit defenses. With speed to burn, Lambert-Smith possesses a good all-around skill set, but needs development in multiple phases to reach his upside.

Fit with the Browns

Even if/when they select Travis Hunter, the Browns could use another wide receiver, and taking one on Day 3 would appear to be a viable option. Lambert-Smith needs to refine his game, and there are legitimate questions about whether he can perform at the pro level. But he is the type of player who could be appealing in the sixth or seventh round.

Browns Player Drafting Could Impact

Take your pick of any of the receivers not named Jerry Jeudy or Cedric Tillman (who is likely safe as he is still on a rookie contract). There were a lot of factors that went wrong in the passing game in 2024, starting with the quarterback play, but it would not be a hard decision to take a roster spot from Michael Woods II (seven receptions), David Bell (three receptions), Jamari Thrash (three receptions), James Proche (three receptions), or Jaelon Darden (one reception) if the Browns select a wide receiver.

Priority: Medium-plus. Cleveland needs to keep building better depth at wide receiver. And with six selections on Day 3 of the draft, Lambert-Smith could be a name to watch for late in the day.

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