Eagles stay or go: Wide receiver

Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll look at the wide receivers.

Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.

A.J. Brown

During the first half of the season, Brown had six consecutive games with at least 125 receiving yards, an NFL record.

1. At Buccaneers: 9 catches, 131 yards
2. Commanders: 9 catches, 175 yards, 2 TDs
3. At Rams: 6 catches, 127 yards
4. At Jets: 7 catches, 131 yards
5. Dolphins: 10 catches, 137 yards, 1 TD
6. At Commanders: 8 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs

Brown eventually cooled off when the Eagles' offense as a whole sputtered down the stretch, but for a while when the Eagles' season was going well, he basically was the offense.

He finished with 106 catches for 1,456 yards and 7 TDs, but was unable to participate in the Eagles' embarrassing blowout loss to the Buccaneers in the playoffs with a knee injury suffered against the Giants Week 18.

#JimmyVerdict: Brown was the Eagles' best player in 2023. I'm pretty sure he'll be back. Stay.

Stay or go: A.J. Brown

DeVonta Smith

Smith caught 81 passes for 1,066 yards and 7 TDs in 2023. That was down a smidge from 2022, when he caught 95 passes for 1196 yards and 7 TDs. He was a rare Eagles player who showed up for the wildcard round loss to the Bucs, when he caught 8 passes for 148 yards.

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After completing his third NFL season, Smith is eligible for a contract extension. The Eagles like to get deals done with their young star players long before they hit the free agent market, so it wouldn't be surprising if something got done this offseason. If so, it will likely be north of $20 million per season. 

If Smith and the Eagles do not agree to a contract extension this offseason, Smith is under contract for the 2024 season. The Eagles would also have the option of exercising Smith's fifth-year option for 2025, which OverTheCap projects to be a little over $15 million.

#JimmyVerdict: Smith is a young star player. The Eagles will look to make him one of their long-term foundational pieces, whether that's this offseason or next. Stay.

Stay or go: DeVonta Smith

Quez Watkins

Watkins showed promise as a rookie and he made significant strides in his second season in 2021 when he was the No. 2 wide receiver. Since then, his career has gone backwards.

In 2022, after the addition of Brown, Watkins became the No. 3 receiver, and he left too many plays on the field, including a big one in the Super Bowl. In 2023, that trend accelerated. He finished with just 15 catches for 142 yards (under 10 YPC), and 1 TD, with a long reception of 19 yards. Jalen Hurts was picked off twice when targeting Watkins. Watkins also missed seven games with injuries, and late in the season was demoted to WR5.

Watkins has speed, which is a valuable commodity that in theory opposing defenses have to respect even if the ball isn't going his way. However, Watkins couldn't prove that he could make plays down the field, and thus didn't do much to open up opportunities for guys like Brown, Smith, and Dallas Goedert in the intermediate areas of the field.

#JimmyVerdict: Watkins was given far too many chances by the coaching staff to become a positive contributor in the offense, when it was pretty clear to the media and fan base that bad things happened when the ball went his way. The staff seemed to have finally seen what was clear to even casual observers when they benched him late in the season. He is a free agent this offseason, and the Eagles should move on. Go.

Stay or go: Quez Watkins

Olamide Zaccheaus

Zacchaeus didn't have impressive stats (10-164-2), but he was reasonably efficient when the ball went his way, as Eagles quarterbacks had an 111.2 passer rating when they targeted him. He was the most effective of the Eagles' backup receivers, in my opinion, and yet was probably underused. 

While he played the third-most snaps among the receivers, Zaccheaus was typically out-snapped by Watkins when he was healthy, and by Julio Jones in the second half of the season.

#JimmyVerdict: Zaccheaus is a free agent. If I were him, I'd have no interest in returning to the Eagles when the staff somehow thought that Watkins was deserving of more playing time. Go. 

Stay or go: Olamide Zaccheaus

Julio Jones

Jones had 11 catches for just 74 yards after signing with the team in-season. He did have 3 TD catches. He'll join an esteemed list of receivers who signed with the Eagles long after their best days in the NFL, like Art Monk, James Lofton, Roy Green, Mark Duper, and others.

#JimmyVerdict: Go.

Stay or go: Julio Jones

Britain Covey

Covey was a very good returner for the Eagles during the second half of the 2022 season. The team foolishly cut him at 53-man cutdowns in 2023, and were lucky that no other teams claimed him off of waivers. He rejoined the team and was arguably the best punt returner in the NFL.

#JimmyVerdict: The Eagles won't cut him in 2024. Stay. Still, it's not ideal for a player for take up a roster spot to be just a punt returner only, so if Covey can carve out some kind of a small role in the offense that would increase his value.

Stay or go: Britain Covey

#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results

Green = Stay

Red = Go

Blue = Will be back in camp in 2024, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.

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