Snead played his freshman year at Glade Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida. The Snead family then moved to Michigan where his father, Willie Snead III, had taken the head coaching job at Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan. Holland Christian went 14–0 in 2008 winning the state championship. Snead, as a sophomore, was one of the top receivers on the team with 35 receptions, 543 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns.

Snead played in eleven games for the Ball State Cardinals in 2011. In his first start, Snead recorded 180 receiving yards, which is the 11th-best for a single game in Ball State history, and a touchdown against Army. His first career reception came at South Florida and his first career touchdown catch came against Buffalo. Ball State finished the season 6–6 with another win over Army 48–21 and notable losses to #22 South Florida and #2 Oklahoma. Snead finished his freshman season with 327 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In the 2012 season, Snead started in 12 games and played in all 13 games. At the end of the 2012 season, Snead was tied for third on Ball State’s single season receptions and third for single season receiving yards. In his sophomore season, Snead ended the year 25th in the nation on receiving yards per game averaging 88 yards per game. He finished the season with 89 receptions, 1,148 receiving yards, and nine receiving touchdowns. The nine receiving touchdowns ranked sixth in a single season in school history.

The Ball State Cardinals finished the 2012 season 9–3 with important wins over #25 Toledo 34–27, the then Big East’s South Florida 31–27 and, for a second year in a row, the Big Ten’s Indiana Hoosiers 41–39. The three regular season losses came to the #12 Clemson Tigers, Kent State, and Northern Illinois. Both Kent State and Northern Illinois went on to be ranked in the Top 25. Snead started for Ball State in the 2012 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl game in St. Petersburg, Florida where they were defeated by the Central Florida Knights 38–17.

Snead went undrafted during the 2014 NFL Draft. On May 10, 2014, the Cleveland Browns signed Snead to a three-year, $1.54 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $5,000.

Throughout training camp, Snead competed for a roster spot against Andrew Hawkins, Anthony Armstrong, Conner Vernon, Charles Johnson, and Taylor Gabriel. Snead performed well throughout training camp and finished the preseason with eight receptions for 124 receiving yards. On August 30, 2014, the Cleveland Browns waived Snead as part of their final roster cuts.

Snead signed with the Carolina Panthers practice squad on September 23, 2014. On November 6, 2014, the Carolina Panthers released Snead from their practice squad.

On December 11, 2014, the New Orleans Saints signed Snead to their practice squad. Snead spent the remainder of the 2014 NFL season on the Saints’ practice squad and did not appear in any regular season games during the season. On December 29, 2014, the New Orleans Saints signed Snead to a reserve/futures contract.

He made his professional regular season debut in the New Orleans Saints’ season-opener at the Arizona Cardinals and caught one pass for a 63-yard gain during their 31–19 loss. On September 20, 2015, Snead made four receptions for 44-yards and scored his first career touchdown as the Saints lost 26–19 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. Snead scored his first career touchdown on a 16-yard pass by Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees during the fourth quarter. In Week 5, he earned his first career start and made six receptions for a season-high 141 receiving yards during a 39–17 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. On November 1, 2015, Snead had six receptions for 70-yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ 52–49 victory against the New York Giants in Week 8. Snead was inactive for the Saints’ Week 13 loss against the Carolina Panthers due to a calf injury. In Week 14, he collected seven receptions for 122 receiving yards during a 24–17 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, Snead made a season-high ten catches for 76 receiving yards as the Saints lost 35–27 to the Detroit Lions in Week 15. He finished the 2015 season with 69 receptions for a career-high 984 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 15 games and eight starts. He finished second on the team in receiving yards, behind Brandin Cooks (1,138 yds), and ranked 28th among all players in the league.

He appeared in the New Orleans Saints season-opener against the Oakland Raiders and caught nine passes for a career-high 172-yards and a touchdown during their 35–34 loss. Snead, Cooks, and Michael Thomas combined for a total of 373 receiving yards against the Raiders, which became the most by a New Orleans’ trio in a loss. Snead was inactive for a Week 3 loss against the Atlanta Falcons after injuring his toe. On November 13, 2016, Snead caught five passes for 47-yards and had a season-high two touchdown receptions during the Saints’ 25–23 loss against the Denver Broncos in Week 10. In Week 12, Snead completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to running back Tim Hightower off a lateral during the fourth quarter of a 49–21 victory against the Los Angeles Rams. It marked his first career touchdown pass. Snead finished the 2016 NFL season with 72 receptions for 895 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 15 games and four starts. Snead was ranked the fifth best slot receiver in 2016 by Pro Football Focus. His 69.2% catch rate was 18th among NFL wide receivers.

Snead entered training camp slated as the No. 2 wide receiver, but received competition for the role from Ted Ginn Jr. On September 1, 2017, Snead received a three game suspension stemming from an incident where he was arrested for driving while intoxicated and failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle after crashing into a parked car and failing a breathalyzer test. He was originally suspended for four games, but was reduced to three after an appeal. Upon returning from suspension, Snead was named the fourth wide receiver in the depth chart behind Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr., and Brandon Coleman. He also lost his position as the primary slot receiver to Brandon Coleman. Snead finished the 2017 NFL season with only eight receptions for 92 receiving yards and was held without a touchdown reception in 11 games and seven starts.

On March 13, 2018, the New Orleans Saints applied a level three tender to Snead as a restricted free agent. The tender allowed the Saints to match any contract offer given to Snead.

On April 20, 2018, the Baltimore Ravens signed Snead to a two-year offer sheet worth up to $10.4 million, giving the Saints five days to match or let him sign with Baltimore. On April 23, 2018, the Saints officially declined to match the Baltimore Ravens’ contract offer. As a result, Snead became a member of the Baltimore Ravens and received a two-year, $7 million contract that includes $3 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2 million.

On October 28, 2019, Snead signed a one-year, $6 million contract extension with the Ravens through the 2020 season. In Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, Snead caught two passes for 14 yards and two touchdowns in the 45–6 win. Overall, Snead finished the 2019 season with 31 receptions for 339 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.