DeVonta

Smith

After firing offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo following a mostly disastrous 2025 season, the Eagles should seek “a fresh set of eyes” to reevaluate the Philly offense and how it utilizes its skill position players, Murphy said. McDaniel, who designed and called plays for a Miami offense that ranked among the NFL’s most efficient from 2022 to 2024 — before the team’s 2025 collapse. Eagles players, including DeVonta Smith, said after the team’s Wild Card loss to the 49ers that the offensive scheme had not changed at all in recent years despite the Eagles shuffling through offensive coordinators. That suggests the problem lies with head coach Nick Sirianni. “Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie pride themselves on being ahead of the curve. They’d rather be a year early than a year late,” Murphy said. “Right now, it is getting late early. McDaniel or not, they need a new voice, an inventive mind, and a fresh set of eyes. Anybody else will end up right where Patullo is. And that’s not fair to anybody.”

Smith led the Eagles in catches and yards in what ended up another dysfunctional day for the passing attack, this one in a season-ending loss. That included more A.J. Brown drama, with the supposed No. 1 wideout dropping a critical late target and arguing earlier in the contest with coach Nick Sirianni. Brown then left the stadium without talking to the media. It certainly seems like Brown wants his time with the Eagles to be through, which would finally give 27-year-old Smith his first shot as a legitimate No. 1 wideout in 2026. Despite this passing attack’s issues, Brown’s departure would make Smith a high-end WR2, at worst. He could easily provide WR1 returns. There’s still a lot that needs to happen between now and then, but early drafters can treat Smith as if Brown will be gone.

Smith is one of the few Eagles starters that played in this game, entering Week 18 looking to gain 44 yards to get to 1,000 yards receiving on the season. He got there in the first quarter, catching three passes for 52 yards to join A.J. Brown as 1,000-yard receivers for the Eagles. The shifty veteran has speed downfield and operates efficiently on the outside. He will be the team’s WR2 heading into the playoffs, a role that may not get him many touchdowns but will give Smith the occasional splash play.

The Eagles could climb as high as the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a victory and a Lions win over Chicago, and Garafolo believes they could beat Washington with some of their key starters resting for the postseason. That could include Jalen Hurts, which would mean Tanner McKee could see significant playing time against a Commanders defense being bludgeoned by opposing QBs. If Saquon Barkley sits, Tank Bigsby — who has been ultra efficient as an Eagle — could see a full workload against the Swiss cheese Washington run defense. It’s a situation to monitor for fantasy managers playing in Week 18 championships.

The Eagles only threw for 110 yards, so there wasn’t much happening in the passing game on a day when the rain was pouring down. Smith was third on the team in targets and receptions, so we guess there’s that. He had an impressive catch overturned on replay as well, as the ground altered the ball in the view of the command center. He did have a touchdown against the Commanders last week, so perhaps he can repeat that when the two teams play in Week 18.

Smith didn’t do much in terms of yardage with a long gain of just 16 yards, but he did have a solid number of targets and was able to connect on a short touchdown with Jalen Hurts to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead. The 27-year-old has his first touchdown of December, and just his fourth of the season. A chance to add to those totals comes in Week 17 against the Bills, but there’s a lot of volatility in Smith’s fantasy profile right now.

With the Eagles up 17-0 at halftime and the Raiders giving zero indication they could fight back, Philly predictably ended up taking the air out of the ball in an eventual 31-0 victory. Jalen Hurts attempted only 18 throws, with both Smith and A.J. Brown being limited to two grabs. The difference was, one of Brown’s ended up in the end zone. Frustrating, though a foreseeable outcome in what amounted to an exhibition game for the Eagles. Similar issues could arrive for Week 16 against the Commanders, though no one is as bad as the Raiders right now. Smith will remain a low-end WR2 for the second week of the fantasy playoffs.

Smith’s eight targets ranked third on the team behind A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert, while his 37 yards extended a streak of six games without reaching the century mark. With just three touchdowns and two 100-yard games on the season, Smith has yet to live up to lofty preseason expectations for fantasy drafters that took him in premium rounds. He’ll have every opportunity to return usable counting stats when the Eagles host the Raiders in Week 15.

Smith and Jalen Hurts connected on a 30-yard pass early in the contest, and after that, it was all dink-and-dunk between the two. It’s been a feast or famine type year for the wideout in 2025, with this one squarely in the middle at best. Smith will remain a high-end WR3 — if there is such a thing — for Week 14 against the Chargers.

Smith is really going through it this week, but he upgraded to full on Friday after sitting out on Wednesday and Thursday, so he can be thrust into starting lineups as a WR3. The Eagles will likely focus on attacking a Bears’ run defense missing four linebackers this weekend, but Smith is remains a key figure in the offense regardless.