The Philadelphia Eagles got absolutely hammered 35-0 in their second preseason game on Thursday night against the New England Patriots. The Eagles did not play 11 starters on both offense and defense, which included second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts.
However, we did see the debut of first-round pick and Heisman trophy winner wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Smith suffered a minor knee injury earlier in training camp, but returned to team drills this week. The former Alabama standout did not have any eye-popping stats, but did show off some fancy footwork to get off the line of scrimmage.
Stats
In his first preseason game, Smith had two receptions (four targets) for 19 yards.
Analysis
It was nice to see Smith make his preseason debut against the Patriots on Thursday. Even though he did not have amazing stats, you could see the talent and skills that made him the best wide receiver in college football season.
The Heisman trophy winner will enter Week 1 of the regular season on September 12 as one of the Eagles’ three starting wide receivers. Smith isn’t a WR1 in fantasy football yet, but he would not be a bad WR2/WR3 depending on who else you might have rostered on your team.
DeVonta Smith just creates space so easily @DeVontaSmith_6 @Eagles
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 20, 2021
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