The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0 thus far this season after dominant performances against the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders as they have looked great on both sides of the ball. This is a team with a burgeoning offense.
Heavily reliant on the run game in recent seasons, Philadelphia is now boasting a passing offense that is just as dangerous. Jalen Hurts is developing nicely and has a strong cast of skill position players around him that has helped the process.
One of those players is wide receiver, DeVonta Smith. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner was selected No. 10 overall by the Eagles in the 2021 NFL Draft and had a strong rookie season with 64 receptions for 916 yards and five touchdowns. The yardage was a franchise record for a rookie.
This offseason, the team added a running mate for him, acquiring A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. In Week 1, Smith took a backseat to Brown, who caught 10 passes for 155 yards, breaking a franchise record for most receiving yards in a debut with the team. Smith wasn’t targeted once.
But, anyone who was nervous Smith may not receive the same amount of chances in his sophomore season had those worries put to rest. In Week 2 Smith was targeted seven times, catching all of them for 80 yards. In Week 3, he went off.
Smith caught eight passes for 169 yards, which is a career-high for him, and a touchdown. Washington had no answer for him, as Smith tore up their secondary. After the game, he spoke about the big performance, saying he was just doing his part and taking advantage of the opportunities presented to him.
“Like I always say, you gotta make the most of your opportunities,” Smith said, via Dave Zangaro of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “You might have a game like that where you don’t get the ball or you don’t get your opportunities. But when they come, you gotta make the most of it.”
There is a lot of talent to spread the ball around to in Philadelphia, as they have had a different leading receiver in all three games thus far this season. In Week 2, it was tight end Dallas Goedert pacing the team.
Smith, just like Brown and Goedert before him, was presented with a chance to shine in Week 3 and made the most of it. With so many players capable of having big games, the Eagles’ offense looks like it is going to be a very difficult one to slow down throughout the season.
