Auburn’s Keandre Lambert-Smith had his dreams come to fruition on Day 3 of the NFL draft, being selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fifth round at pick 158.
Lambert-Smith transferred to the Tigers in the spring of 2024 from Penn State to further his already illustrious career in the SEC. In three and half seasons at Penn State, Lambert-Smith hauled in 126 passes for 1,721 yards and 11 scores.
Lambert-Smith truly took his game to the next level when he transferred to Auburn and his hard work showed through his play early in the season.
In Auburn’s first game of the 2024 season, Lambert-Smith made himself known to the fans on the very first ball he caught. After the Tigers defense forced a 3-and-out against Alabama A&M on their first offensive possession, Auburn had the ball on their own 33 yard line. The first play of the Tigers’ ensuing possession, Peyton Thorne dropped back and threw a perfectly placed ball that hit Lambert-Smith right in the bread basket for a 67-yard touchdown, marking his first catch and score sporting orange and blue.
That one play seemed to be the story of his season as Lambert-Smith continued to torch defenders and find himself open downfield with only green in sight. His biggest game of the year came only three games later in Auburn’s conference opener loss against Arkansas. Lambert-Smith caught 5 passes for 156 yards, finding the endzone twice; the only two touchdowns that Auburn would score on the day.
With other notable performances against UGA, ULM, Texas A&M, and Alabama, it’s no surprise that the 6 '1, 190 pound speedster who clocked a 4.37 second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine was an asset for the Chargers to add.
As this year’s draft was as up in the air as any draft in recent history, it truly was a toss up as to when and where Lambert-Smith would hear his name called. The Chargers are lucky to have found themselves in a position to take Lambert-Smith as they drafted themselves a diamond in the rough who is accustomed to work, hard work, the Auburn way.
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Charlie is a sophomore from Mendham, New Jersey. He is majoring in journalism and started with The Plainsman in spring 2024.
