Over the last year or two, the market for wide receivers in the NFL has greatly increased. Just this offseason, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson have gotten lucrative extensions, and more are due for men such as CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk.
The Philadelphia Eagles, after falling apart at the seams in December and January of last season, made sure to extend both of their main threats at wideout this offseason.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both got new deals that should keep them with the team for at least a few more years.
Smith’s extension is for three years and $75 million, which seems generous enough, but it is dwarfed by those of other receivers. Still, he seems content with the deal and his overall situation.
“You can’t be counting the pockets of others. I’m where I want to be. At the end of the day, it’s still life-changing for me,” Smith stated.
Smith, a University of Alabama product, has been in the NFL for just three seasons, but he has proven that he is a legitimate threat.
He had 64 catches for 916 yards and five touchdowns, and last season, he was at 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns on 81 receptions.
An argument could be made that he and Brown, who posted 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, make up the league’s best wide receiver tandem today.
Indeed, when the Eagles failed to defend their NFC championship last year, offense wasn’t exactly their problem. They finished seventh in points and eighth in total yards, and quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 3,858 yards and 23 touchdowns while adding 605 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Instead, it was their defensive deficiencies that helped do them in down the stretch. Even when they started 10-1, they had to come from behind often to win games, and they seldom won easily, even against inferior teams.
Starting with a Dec. 3 home blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Philly dropped five of its last six regular season games and gave up at least 33 points three times during that stretch.
When they were blown out in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, they surrendered 32 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that was mediocre offensively during the regular season.
With a new defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio, not to mention the arrival of star running back Saquon Barkley, perhaps DeVonta Smith and crew will at least return to the NFC Championship Game this winter.
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