Grealish completed a British record of £100 million to Manchester City this summer as his departure was a big loss to The Lions.
The England international played a crucial role in Villa's promotion into the top-flight and also assisted the club to a 11th position in the Premier League last season.
But Villa have made several signings to make sure they still have a better side for the new season.
With Villa set to commence their 2021-22 Premier League away with Watford on Saturday, Dean Smith believes he's been able to augment his squad following the exit of his former captain Grealish.
"It was important that we strengthened the squad depth this season.
"We felt we had an 11 that could compete against anybody including the top teams - now we've got more variation, more adaptability, and more depth and that's really important.
"Obviously Jack going was a big loss. We wanted to keep him, but we would have added more creativity - and have added more creativity with Buendia - whether Jack stayed or not. I think we're in a good place.
"I think we've got two or three who can come and do that," he said.
"I wanted to build a better team if Jack left and I feel we can do that. There was an over-reliance at times, an unconscious over-reliance on Jack.
"I think we've moved away from that now. Only time will tell if that's a good thing but we believe in the team we've got and the squad we've got, and what we have to do now is prove it on the football pitch."
