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Kaden Smith declares for the NFL and other departures are expected

The Farm is where tight ends grow tall and strong. Kaden Smith is the latest to develop into an NFL caliber player and he announced Tuesday that he will not return for his senior season at Stanford to pursue his dream of professional football.

Smith was one of three Mackey Award finalists this season but only played nine games after suffering a foot injury. He caught 47 passes for 635 yards and two touchdowns this year. In a 20-game career he caught a total of 70 passes for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns.

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Smith made tremendous strides in his development during his sophomore season. He was arguably the most improved offensive player from training camp to the end of the season. He became a much stronger blocker and his hands became trap-like around the ball.

Before this season at Pac-12 Media Days head coach David Shaw called Smith the next Zach Ertz. The former Cardinal great is a star in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and is putting together the early stages of a hall-of-fame career.

Smith grew up a fan of Jason Witten. The Texan watched the Cowboy Hall of Famer with the awe of most young tight ends aspiring to be great.

Smith's departure is far from surprising for Stanford. His loss from the offense is significant, but his production is not irreplaceable because of the talent in the wide receiver pipeline and the emergence of Colby Parkinson.

The 6-7 sophomore caught 27 passes for 485 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Four of those touchdowns came in the first half against Oregon State, along with 166 yards. Parkinson is not the same type of tight end as Smith but in a different way he will be featured next season as one of Stanford's best talents. And it's not inconceivable that like Smith he only spends three years on campus.

Smith is not the only Cardinal to announce his decision to move on from Stanford football in the past 24 hours.

Redshirt junior Dylan Jackson said goodbye on his Instagram account but did not clarify what his plans about retiring or transferring for a graduate year. He was academic first team All Pac-12 the past two years. It seems likely he will transfer.

Wilson is a superb student and for most of his four seasons at Stanford played the "Ogre" role in the formations with extra linemen. He rotated in at guard for several games this season because the Cardinal were devastated by injuries. He will pursue a masters degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford.

Wilson is pictured in his Instagram post with fellow Austin Maihen, Jack Dreyer and Brian Chaffin. Maihen and Dreyer medically retired from football. They all signed with Stanford in 2015.

It's unclear whether Chaffin will return to Stanford for his fifth year. Like Wilson, the North Carolina native spent the past seasons in a backup role and playing the formations that require extra linemen.

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