In Roob’s Observations: Why DeVonta Smith has a monster year in him

In Roob’s Observations: Why DeVonta Smith has a monster year in him originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Why DeVonta Smith has a monster year inside him waiting to come out, what the Eagles’ head coach said after the Eagles lost to the Giants by 52 points in 1972 and how the Eagles’ interior line snaps might be distributed in 2024.

We’re in the dog days of the offseason, during the endless lull between spring workouts and training camp. But there are never dog days for 10 Obs. So here’s our latest batch of Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations.

1. It’s easy to look at DeVonta Smith as WR2, and when you’re playing alongside A.J. Brown that’s bound to happen. Brown happens to be one of the two or three best wide receivers in the league and that’s not going to change. But I do think Smith has a breakthrough season in him, even playing alongside Brown, and there are analytics that support that notion. Smith last year averaged 9.5 yards per target, 10th-highest of 35 wide receivers targeted at least 100 times and a bit higher than Brown’s 9.2. He also had a catch percentage of 72.3 percent, which means he caught 72.3 percent of his targets. That’s the highest on record by an Eagles WR – and that goes back to 1994 – and was 6th-highest last year of those 35 receivers with at least 100 targets – and again higher than Brown’s 67.1. The only other WRs at 9.0 yards per target and 72 percent catch percentage in 2023 were Rashee Rice, CeeDee Lamb, Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown. And of that group, only Smith and Collins averaged over 13 yards per catch. Brown had 46 more targets than Smith (and played in one more regular-season game), and while nobody wants to see his targets go down, if Smith’s targets increased just 10 percent and his production remains the same, you’re looking at about 1,250 yards. Smith has averaged 1,059 yards his first three seasons, but no doubt in my mind he’s capable of a lot more without taking…

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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-06-22 18:27:45

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