BamaInsider continues to unveil its annual top-40 list for the Alabama football team. Players were rated based on their projected impact for the Crimson Tide this season. Today we break into the top five by looking at last year’s leading receiver, DeVonta Smith.

Alabama top 40: 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6

— 68 receptions

— 1,256 receiving yards (team-high)

— 14 receiving touchdowns (team-high)

— 18.47 yards per catch

Smith hauled in a career-high 11 passes against Ole Miss, breaking Alabama’s single-game receiving records with 274 yards and five touchdowns. His five receiving touchdowns tied a single-game SEC record, while his 274 yards through the air ranked sixth among the conference’s single-game bests. By halftime, Smith had already recorded eight receptions for 221 yards and four touchdowns.

Smith also went off against LSU, recording seven receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the first time an Alabama receiver recorded two 200-yard games since Amari Cooper accomplished the feat in 2014.

Smith enters his senior season in the top 10 in most of Alabama’s notable receiving milestones. The mark he likeliest to break is career receiving touchdowns where he sits at fourth with 23, eight away from Cooper’s record of 31. Smith currently ranks sixth in career receiving yards with 2,109. He’d need 1,354 yards through the air this season to match Cooper’s record of 3,463 yards. It’s hard to imagine Smith topping last year’s career-best of 1,256 yards through the air. However, if Alabama makes a run in the College Football Playoff, he’ll have more games to reach the mark.

Smith also proved last year that he is capable of getting hot in games, as evidenced by his two 200-yard performances. While he holds the records for most single-game receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, he could conceivably catch fire again and break the record of 13 single-game receptions held by Cooper (2014 Florida, 2014 Auburn) and D.J. Hall (2007 Tennessee).

Smith’s talents were already well-known, but few figured he would break out the way he did. That includes us here at BamaInsider, who had him all the way down at No. 24 in last year’s top 40. We aren’t taking the star receiver lightly this season, and neither will opposing defenses.

Along with his ability to make tough catches, Smith has the ability to make plays with the ball in his hands. Last season, he averaged 11.2 yards after the catch, the highest total in the nation among receivers with at least 40 receptions, according to Pro Football Focus. That ability to make plays in open space should prove essential as Alabama looks to continue to develop quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bryce Young.

Smith will also serve as a leader off the field as he is Alabama’s lone returning team captain from last season. While the Tide returns another top receiver in Jaylen Waddle, the majority of the unit is inexperienced and might need to lean on its veterans early for guidance.

Waddle and John Metchie III will help offset the departures of Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy and should continue to prevent defenses from doubling up on Smith. It might be hard for the senior to match last year’s totals, but no one will be surprised if he posts big numbers again this year.

“I think that DeVonta is just a really good all-around player. He doesn’t have a real weakness. I think that his size and his frame, there’s probably going to be some concerns in the NFL about his bulk. But when you put on the tape, he doesn’t play like an under-bulked guy in contact. He powers through arm tackles and absorbs contact and does some things after the catch that alleviate those concerns for me.” — Jim Nagy, executive director for the Reese’s Senior Bowl