Philadelphia Eagles: Dallas delivers DeVonta Smith to Jalen Hurts

Welp, in quite possibly the weirdest twist of all time, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off an incredibly low-cost trade-up with the Dallas Cowboys to move up from 12 to 10 and selected… DeVonta Smith, wide receiver, Alabama.

Whoa, a lot to unpack here.

Now, on one hand, Howie Roseman making trades with the Cowboys is nothing new, as the Eagles helped to facilitate Dallas’ ability to draft Tyler Biadasz146th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, but still, to hand-deliver a WR1 to their division rivals for the low, low price of a 2021 third-round pick feels rather wild, no?

Either way, DeVonta Smith doesn’t have to worry about which burrow of the Big Apple he’ll choose to live in any longer, as he has officially been reunited with one of his college quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts, and you’d best believe that’s a heck of a positive development.

Life, my friends, is good.

DeVonta Smith instantly becomes the Philadelphia Eagles’ best receiver in years.

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Cheesesteaks. Soft pretzels. Tomato pies. What do these foods have in common?

They all have a ton of calories.

Why, you may ask, is this relevant? Because the only reason DeVonta Smith was the third wide receiver off the board was due to his “concerning” weight.

Had Smith simply tipped the scales at, say, 190 pounds with the same accolades and stats, he surely would have been picked by the Miami Dolphins at six overall instead of his college teammate Jaylen Waddle, but hey, that’s neither here nor there.

Smith is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and I don’t think anyone is quite ready for just how unique of a player Jalen Hurts will be throwing to this fall.

Smith is fast, eager, and athletic. He was an absolute force in the Crimson Tide’s screen game, picked apart the middle of the field on short and intermediate routes like a certified technician, and even was a force on go routes despite sharing the field with generationally fast receivers like Waddle and 2020 first-round pick Henry Ruggs. He can run any route in the books, play all three traditional wide receiver positions, and even contribute in the punt return game a la early career DeSean Jackson; which probably isn’t the best use of a 166 pound top-10 wide receiver, but is still an option that’s on the table.

You want to play 2020 first-round pick Jalen Reagor as a flanker? Okay, deploy Smith in the slot and watch him pick apart third cornerbacks with his exceptional route-running and decisiveness as a screener. Would you rather deploy Reagor on the inside? That’s cool too, Smith is fast enough to be a big-time playmaker out of the Z spot and technically proficient enough to remain productive against even the biggest outside cornerbacks.

Alabama put the ball in Smith’s hands 254 times during his four-year tenure in Tuscaloosa, and I imagine they’re kicking themselves for not targeting him 254 more; he was just that good.

But hey, don’t just take my word for it; let’s see what Smith had to say about heading to Philly to reunite with Hurts.

Work every day, huh? I think Smith’s going to fit into this city nicely.

While one could argue that the Eagles had a bigger need at cornerback than wide receiver and should have instead utilized their draft capital to move up to eight and select Jaycee Horn, it’s hard to argue with Roseman letting the board fall to him and capitalizing on the Dallas Cowboys’ similar DB dis-fortune by swapping out one of their two third-rounders to steal away Smith from the New York Giants, who all but surely would have called his number if he was still available.

Fun fact: The Giants appeared so set on selecting Smith at 11 that when he was no longer available, they traded down with the Chicago Bears for pick 20, a 2022 first, and a pair of Day 3 picks.

There’s no two ways about it; the Philadelphia Eagles did a good job in the first round. They allowed the board to develop without panicking, identified a player they liked, and traded up for pennies on the dollar to ensure he ended up in a midnight green jersey instead of Giants red, white, and blue. If he can just put on a little weight and reestablish the connection he had at Alabama with fellow national champion Jalen Hurts, this may go down as one of the best first-round picks of the Howie Roseman-era. Fortunately, the City of Brother Love is ripe with rich, carby foods, so the first should be no problem at all.