August 10, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead of the Philadelphia Eagles gives instructions during training camp at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on August 4, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On a sweltering hot Saturday, the Eagles scrimmaged for the first time since training camp opened. Jalen Hurts and the offense, which had performed inconsistently throughout camp, jogged onto the field, staring down a first-team defense with All Pros at every level.
Hurts didn't have his star wideout, DeVonta Smith, sidelined by a hamstring sprain. But on his first pass, he took a quick drop and fired a pass perfectly in stride with another wide receiver he's come to trust.
Dontayvion Wicks reeled in the target, moved the chains, and so began another Eagles camp practice of Hurts and Wicks partnering early and often to establish a rapport that began months ago in OTA and has carried into the late summer.
"Just the work off the field, the talking, the connections off the field that build up to connections on the field and chemistry," Wicks said Sunday when asked how he and Hurts have so quickly found alignment in a short time. "Getting together off the field, like we did in the summer, that also built up for now, and will build up for the season."
In the post-A.J Brown era, Smith is clearly the team's top target and most menacing passing weapon. But there must be a co-pilot among the remade group of wide receivers for the new offense to function properly, and Wicks, a newcomer who landed in South Philly via trade with the Packers, appears to be earning that title.
That first connection Saturday, one of many throughout camp, was the byproduct of the timing and rhythm being preached and practiced by new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, an understudy of Matt LaFleur as an assistant for two seasons in Green Bay and of Sean McVay, who Mannion spent three seasons playing for early in his six-year career.
The Shanahan/McVay offenses are dependent on trust and chemistry between the quarterback and pass catchers, because the ball is expected to be out quickly, with receiver routes synced with the quarterback's drops.
Wicks, who played for LaFleur for his first three seasons, already had familiarity with Mannion and the offense, but getting on the same page with Hurts quickly has become more essential with Smith sidelined and with first-round wideout Makai Lemon also missing much of camp so far with a hamstring injury.
At this point, it's reasonable to assume – as our Jimmy Kempski wrote recently – that Lemon won't be ready to assume a starting role, or even a prominent one, by the season opener, making Wicks' rapport with Hurts that much more vital.
“I mean, he's got great work ethic, got great hunger,” Hurts said after a recent camp practice. “In the summertime, he was beating down the door to spend that time and just work. He’s twitchy, can attack the ball.
"When you talk about adversity ... you learn a lot about the guys around you in this time of camp – it's humid, it’s sticky, it’s hot. You see who’s got that anger to him, who’s got a little bit of rage in them for the best. He’s got it. That’s exciting to see."
Yes, Wicks admitted, Hurts has him sized him pretty well.
"I feel like I came from Louisiana, so it's born like that," Wicks said. "You see that from a lot of Louisiana guys. And just what I've been through, just dealing with a lot of adversity, it just give me that drive and motivation to put it all out on the field."
It remains to be seen how this new-look Eagles receiver room will pan out and if Mannion's offense can coax more from on a deeper cast than past Eagles offenses that rotated through No. 3 receivers who played little to no role in the pass game.
Another characteristic of the Shanahan/McVay offenses is working every level of the field, to multiple different receivers, distributing targets to make defenses cover more ground.
In Wicks, the Eagles have a 6-foot-1 receiver who moves like a smaller, twitchier wideout. He isn't strictly a sideline target merchant like many "X" receivers are, and he's driven to show he can produce more than he did in Green Bay off the bench. In Lemon, when he's healthy, the Eagles will finally feature a true slot receiver with tremendous short-area burst. Smith, now stepping into the No. 1 role, is on the precipice of stardom with his ability to attack every level of the field and win in contested catch situations despite the lithe frame that earned him the "Slim Reaper" nickname.
Johnny Wilson, back from missing his sophomore season from knee and ankle injuries sustained last camp, has great size at 6-foot-6 and can play inside and outside, along with providing a blocking presence in the run game like a tight end would. Hollywood Brown has had a quiet camp so far but has four career 100-target seasons. Darius Cooper, last year's Cinderella camp story as an undrafted rookie, has equaled Wicks so far in stacking impressive camp practices and earning Hurts' approval.
"When you got dudes that can do totally different things and you have so much depth," Wilson said, "you can put people anywhere and they can make plays."
This Eagles have more depth at receiver than they've ever had in the Nick Sirianni era, and Mannion and Hurts share the dual responsibility of ensuring that enough mouths are fed to keep the pass offense from reverting back to its stale version.
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