May 20, 2026
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Devonta Smith is obsessed with becoming the No. 1 receiver for the Eagles in the post-A.J. Brown era.
We're approaching the end of May, which means the Eagles-A.J. Brown trade saga will finally be coming to an end sometime in the near future.
The Eagles have taken plenty of steps this offseason to remake their wide receiver corps to fit their new offensive scheme and to have enough around Jalen Hurts as they prepare for a June 1-ish trade of Brown, who has 5,034 yards and 32 touchdown catches in his four seasons with the Eagles.
They used a first-round pick on Makai Lemon, traded for former Packers wideout Dontayvion Wicks, and signed two speedy free agent pass catchers in Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore.
But the player who's really expecting to make this pass offense thrive in the post-Brown era is the one who's already been here, playing alongside Brown the whole time.
According to longtime NFL Insider James Palmer, formerly of NFL Network and currently of Bleacher Report and The Athletic, DeVonta Smith "has been a man possessed" this offseason as he steps into the team's WR1 role in 2026.
Palmer appeared on a recent "Up & Adams" show with host Kay Adams and said Smith has even been calling other elite receivers to ask them about the responsibilities of being the top dog.
Here is the full quote from the show's social media clip:
"The one player I would keep my eye on is DeVonta Smith. What I have been told this offseason is he has been a man possessed about, 'I am going into step into this No. 1 role,' calling former receivers, asking them about different things this offseason. I had a conversation with Nick Sirianni and he was like, 'We have just scratched the surface with Devonta Smith, like I think we can do so much more with him in this new offense, we can do so much more with him,' and then they have Wicks, they have Hollywood ... so they've changed the room for sure and they truly believe DeVonta Smith can be a 1."
OK, two things about Palmer's nugget:
First, what Palmer was told is very consistent with what our own Jimmy Kempski reported last week in his story about Eagles who should see an elevated role in 2026.
Straight from Kempski's story:
As we noted previously, one Eagles personnel guy pointed to the season that Jaxon Smith-Njigba had with Seattle in 2025 after the Seahawks traded away DK Metcalf, and hypothesized Smith could also have a big jump in production. Another endorsed that comparison when presented with it. The general belief within the organization is that Smith is ready to be the alpha receiver on the team and also one of the best in the NFL. He is wired for that challenge and will embrace the opportunity.
Second, Smith might have already been WR1 last season. In 2025, he actually had more receiving yards than Brown, with 1,008 yards on 77 catches to Brown's 1,003 yards on 78 receptions. Smith played two more games than Brown, who still averaged about 67 yards per game to Smith's 59. But Smith had a higher receiving success rate and catch percentage than Brown, and in the playoff loss to the Niners had eight catches for 70 yards on 11 targets while Brown had just three catches for 25 yards on seven targets and dropped some key passes.
There's plenty of evidence to suggest Smith can be the WR1. The Eagles drafted him 10th overall in 2021, fresh off his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Alabama. He became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman in almost 30 years, as Michigan's Desmond Howard in 1991 had been the last receiver to win the trophy.
Smith has reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark in three of his past four seasons, with 2024 being the only season he didn't because he only played 13 games. But his per-game average of 64.1 yards per game that season amounts to 1,090 yards when extrapolated over a 17-game schedule.
Can Smith get into a higher echelon and produce a 1,400-yard season like Brown did for the Eagles in 2022 and 2023? Time will tell. He surely will have the opportunity.
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