Former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith revealed this month how a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback feels about the Tennessee Vols’ offense.

And it’s not great for the Vols.

Tennessee’s offense has a scarlet letter among NFL teams until further notice

While discussing former Vols wide receiver Chris Brazzell, who was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Smith revealed how some folks in the NFL feel about the Vols’ offense.

Smith, who played for the Panthers from 2001 to 2013, pointed out a comment that NFL quarterback Joe Flacco made to him while talking about former Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman.

“I like Cedric Tillman,” said Smith. “He’s at Cleveland. He was at Tennessee when Jalin Hyatt was coming out. [Tillman] had sustained some injuries. I said he was a good player. I liked him. I thought his film was really good — I thought he was an X receiver. I talked to Joe Flacco when he was balling up in Cleveland a couple years ago. And guess what? I said, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about Tillman?’ He says, ‘Man, I like him, Steve. I really like him. Tennessee didn’t help him develop.’ [Those were] his words exactly.“

Smith and co-host James Palmer, a longtime NFL insider, also shared that several NFL teams say they’ll never draft a Tennessee wide receiver.

“The teams I talked to, a couple of them said, ‘I’m not picking a receiver out of Tennessee,’” said Palmer. “I’m just not doing it. … I had a text yesterday from somebody that said, ‘I’m not taking a Tennessee wide receiver.’”

“That’s me too,” chimed in Smith. “I’ve been waiting to talk about this. I don’t trust the Tennessee receivers — not because of the players, but the style of play that they have. In 2026, the receivers at Tennessee, when I look at them, I think of the old Baylor Bears receivers and some of the Ole Miss receivers outside of, obviously, AJ (Brown) and DK Metcalf. But outside of those two guys, I put those Tennessee wide receivers in those same two categories where I go, ‘I can’t trust them because I don’t really believe they were taught the game of football at the highest level.’

“They are taught when it’s your chance, run. … That’s like Jalin Hyatt. Remember, I had those questions a couple years ago. And it sucks for him, because I do think he’s a young, talented, fast wide receiver. I also believe he was short-changed by the lack of great coaching to give him a true understanding of how to play football at the highest level. You’re getting these kids drafted, right? So you’re throwing them in the ocean, but just because they can doggy paddle, doesn’t mean that all of a sudden they can swim in the Olympics.”

We’ve talked about it ad nauseam the last few years, but it bears repeating because of these comments from Smith.

The narrative around Tennessee’s offense won’t change until an offensive skill position player that played for Josh Heupel becomes a superstar in the NFL.

It doesn’t matter that Tennessee’s offense incorporated more pro-style elements last season and didn’t use wide splits and tempo nearly as often. All that matters to the national media, and apparently to some NFL teams and players, is production. Once a former Vol wide receiver produces in the NFL, this narrative will finally die.

It may not be fair, but it’s reality for Heupel and the Vols.