Eagles’ DeVonta Smith reaches new NFL stage with expected trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
DeVonta Smith won a Heisman Trophy at Alabama.
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Sometimes, it’s easier to forget that than it should be. He’s a wide receiver, and he won the Heisman.
That made it no surprise when he entered the NFL in 2021 and immediately became the Philadelphia Eagles‘ No. 1 wide receiver.
It didn’t stay that way, though. After that season, the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. Brown became the more traditional WR1, a tall, strong, fast target who could make all sorts of plays.
It didn’t diminish Smith entirely. He’s still been crucial to what the Eagles do, including winning a Super Bowl two seasons ago.
He just wasn’t the top dog, after being that both with the Crimson Tide and as a Philly rookie.
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That seems likely to change now.
As long as A.J. Brown is indeed traded away, like the speculation has been for months, it’ll be Smith’s spot to take atop the depth chart again.
Brown is expected to be a post-June 1 trade for salary reasons, and if that does really happen, Smith will have his WR1 role again.
