WR Smith is the Rams’ X-factor

Los Angeles, CA (News4usonline) – Xavier Smith is on board to do anything to help the Los Angeles Rams succeed. Over the course of the last three years, Smith has proven that. 

He spent his rookie season on the team’s practice squad getting integrated on learning the ways of the NFL. That meant trying to comprehend how to play wide receiver at the NFL level and mixing it up on special teams. 

Playing special teams is where Smith has earned his keep with the Rams. Smith returns kicks. He has also played the role of gunner as well. Smith said he doesn’t have a preference on what special teams assignments he’s being asked to play. 

Helping the team is all that matters to him.  

“Just wanting to be whatever I can be in order for this team to be successful, you know, whether I got to play gunner, whether I got to play return, whether they want me to run down kickoffs as well,” Smith said on the first day of training camp. “Anything to help this team win, you know, just continue to get better within this organization and with the guys around me.” 

Doing what it takes is how Smith has been able to climb the ladder as an obscure undrafted free agent to being a solid contributor. With the Rams in training camp phase just ahead of the 2026 NFL season, Smith said his goal is simply to build on what he’s already done.   

“Just coming out here learning from the guys ahead of me, and just one, perform the best of my abilities, doing what I’ve been doing this whole time, coming in and stacking days, you know, getting more comfortable within the offense, just being more comfortable with all areas of the special teams,” Smith remarked. “I just want to come out here and perform the best way that I can.” 

By any stretch of the imagination, Smith’s journey to the NFL would be classified as a success story. He made the football team at Florida A & M University as a walk-on. He then flourished, turning himself into a viable playmaker for the Rattlers.

His reward for being a standout wide receiver throughout his collegiate career was getting snubbed at the 2023 NFL Draft. However, not being drafted turned out to be a hiccup for Smith. 

He wound up signing on with the Rams as an undrafted free agent. Since then, Smith’s trajectory with the ballclub has grown each year. Smith said being on the practice squad was beneficial in his growth and development. 

But more than anything, it helped ease the transition of him coming up from a NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football program to the NFL, he went on to say.   

“Just being comfortable within the NFL,”Smith said. “Coming from a smaller school, making that big leap…sometimes, you know, I guess you can kind of picture the game bigger than what it actually is. For me, that first year was just a way for me to just get comfortable within the organization, get comfortable within the league, get comfortable around my teammates. That way I can just be the best me that I’m able to be.” 

Smith’s best has yet to be seen. The Rams have gotten a taste of what Smith can do the last two seasons. This season could be a breakout year for the fleet-footed Smith.  

His integration into what the Rams do offensively and on special teams cannot fully be measured in the modest numbers he has put up in the last two seasons. In 16 games last season, Smith caught 18 passes for 303 yards. 

That’s a vast difference from the two receptions he had during the 2024 season. The uptick in Smith’s stats and the combined departure of Tutu Atwell could lead to more opportunities for the third-year wideout to showcase what he can do.

If his NFL pathway is any indication, Smith will have that chance. From the outside looking in, Smith has beaten the odds. Going from college walk-on to being overlooked in the draft to playing in the NFL takes a certain mindset, an unshakable belief. 

Smith has always believed. He’s now made a believer out of a whole lot of people.     

“Just knowing that I can play at this level and wanting to be able to showcase that I can play at this level,” Smith said about the attitude he had to take on while going through this journey. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I just wanted to come out here and be able to showcase my talents on, you know, the biggest stage that I’m able to.”