Philadelphia Eagles: DeVonta Smith expected to play versus Patriots

Maybe you’ve heard. Maybe you haven’t. If you haven’t, here’s some news that you may want to familiarize yourselves with. During the first round of the most recent NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles landed that star wide receiver that they’ve been clamoring for since Philly ignored Justin Jefferson in favor of Jalen Reagor and, before that, took a flier on JJ Arcega-Whiteside when D.K. Metcalf was still on everyone’s draft boards.

They’ve been suffering from a little buyer’s remorse ever since as Jefferson and Metcalf have been stars for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks. Reagor might possibly turn the corner, especially now that he’s playing the role of the secondary receiver. That Arcega-Whiteside gamble isn’t going to pay off though.

Let’s make long stories short here. You can see why DeVonta Smith was drafted, and you can see why fans are excited. Oh, and here’s something else, after watching Smith sit out of Philadelphia’s first preseason game, rumor has it that he should be available for their second.

The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to give DeVonta Smith snaps versus the Pats.

According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark, Smith should see the field for Philadelphia versus the New England Patriots. Yes, the game still doesn’t count towards the 2021 win-loss tally. Some of you might have settled into the mindset that the best theory at this point is to rest him and unleash him in Week 1 of the regular season. It’s still nice to get the young guy some reps though.

Prior to his injury, an MCL sprain, Smith was as good as advertised at Philadelphia Eagles training camp. There’s a huge difference between playing in shorts and taking mental reps and being in the game while trying to dodge some live bullets. A huge test for the former Heisman Trophy winner comes on August 19th. We’ll see how he responds during the next stage of his development.