Eagles News: DeVonta Smith is a “one-of-a-kind prospect”

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Projecting the 2021 NFL draft’s top wide receivers: Why DeVonta Smith stands alone - ESPN+
Smith has a monster projection that leaves everyone else in this draft class in the dust. Smith’s projection is all the more impressive considering that he gets a significant penalty for entering the draft as a senior. Smith is by far Playmaker’s highest projected senior wide receiver ever, and it is not even close. That spot had previously belonged to former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, whose projection was more than 100 yards/season lower than Smith’s. Why is Smith’s projection so high? The bottom line is that Smith had eye-popping statistics even though Alabama did not attempt many passes. The Crimson Tide passed only 425 times in 2020, yet Smith managed to record 1,856 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. He scored a touchdown once every 19 times that Alabama attempted a pass. Only two drafted wide receiver prospects since 1996 scored touchdowns at a higher rate than Smith — Randy Moss and Dez Bryant. [...] Smith is a one-of-a-kind prospect who managed to put up elite numbers despite consistently having to compete with other first-round picks for catches. Of course, any prospect can bust for any number of reasons, but Smith is about as solid as they come.

News and notes to chew on as NFL Draft prep hits the homestretch - PE.com
5. How about the wide receiver position? The Eagles have a slew of young ones who stand to benefit from the return of Aaron Moorehead as the position coach. In a receiver-rich NFL Draft, will the Eagles dip into the market? The real questions are how much the Eagles think they’re going to get in Year 2 from Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins; what can J.J. Arcega-Whiteside bring to the offense in his third year; and, maybe the most vexing question, if they believe that Travis Fulgham is on the right path as he was for those four magical weeks in the 2020 regular season. Greg Ward is a proven commodity in the slot, but the Eagles are likely going to challenge him there. So … many questions for the position, one that Eagles fans always have an intense fascination following.

Study claims Eagles fans get drunk and high less than you might expect - BGN
Philadelphia sports fans, Eagles fans in particular, get a bad rap. They’re characterized as drunken, angry, aggressive freaks. Some truth is in that certainly. While it’s annoying for every national TV broadcast to bring up Santa Claus and snowballs, there is a sense of pride in being the most wild people in the world. Given that, imagine the confusion I felt when seeing a study from Lines about what fans consume the most booze and marijuana on game day (hat tip to Falcons SB Nation site The Falcoholic for finding this).

Above the Nest with Raichele #2: Nick Sirianni’s Film Room Recap & Goodbye Nate Sudfel‪d‬ - BGN Radio
On the second episode of Above the Nest with Raichele, Raichele Privette reacts to Nick Sirianni’s energetic film breakdown and excitement for the game. She also rates the Eagles’ latest free-agency moves and says goodbye to former Eagles’ backup QB Nate Sudfeld.

Saturday Notebook - Iggles Blitz
Could the Eagles take a LB early in the draft? The Eagles have not focused on the LB position in a long time. New DC Jonathan Gannon came from teams (MIN, IND) that did put more emphasis on LBs. That could force a change with the Eagles. I could see the Eagles looking at 2020 as a year of evaluation. With Alex Singleton, Eric Wilson and T.J. Edwards, there is a solid trio to work with. You have Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley and Genard Avery behind them. You also have Joe Bachie and Rashad Smith. The coaches might want to find out what they think of this group instead of spending key resources. If the team does decide to go for a LB, they will have good options. There are some terrific players in the first few rounds. I don’t anticipate a LB going early now that Wilson has been signed, but you certainly can’t completely rule it out. If there is a prospect the team loves, go get him.

‘Things I think’ as we get closer to the 2021 NFL Draft - Big Blue View
I got a kick the other day out of Bleeding Green Nation’s Brandon Lee Gowton throwing his support behind the Giants on the SB Nation NFL Show. ‘I don’t think the Giants should be discounted, and that’s coming from someone who never took the Giants seriously for a long time because the Eagles would own them,” Gowton said. “I think the Giants actually have something going for them here now. They’ve definitely upgraded. I think that much can’t even be debated ... “I just don’t think you can count the Giants out. It’s been so long for them, maybe it’s finally time.”

No decision yet on reversal of one-helmet rule - PFT
Last year, the NFL acknowledged that the one-helmet rule could change in 2021. It still could. Per a league spokesperson, there has been no resolution yet regarding the possibility that teams could be permitted to allow players to use more than one helmet during the course of a given season. That would give teams the ability to incorporate throwback uniforms with helmets of a different color than the base color of the helmet a given team uses. [BLG Note: So, still no word on the potential return of kelly green.]

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