The Eagles trade for a wide receiver, and I’m mulling whether we should be dropping A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith some on our boards. That passing offense could be more diverse this year.
Not that Jahan Dotson is necessarily a huge upgrade. While he showed solid potential as a rookie, he didn’t have a prominent role under Eric Bieniemy, and this new coaching staff opted to trade him.
But he’s another addition at the position. Earlier the Eagles signed Parris Campbell. And I’m wondering whether they’re planning on making more use of third and fourth receivers. They’ve got a new offensive coordinator (Kellen Moore), and they’re looking to make some changes.
The last two years, everything has tended to run through Brown and Smith. They were the only wide receiver tandem that caught over half of their team’s completions, and they accounted for a league-high 62 percent of their team’s receiving yards. They finished with 2,522 yards, the 2nd-highest total for a tandem (behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle).
They were not as dominant in scoring (combining for 14 of Philadelphia’s 24 TD catches), but they’ve been the guys. Using PPR scoring, they combined for 57 percent of Philadelphia’s receiving production last year. Only three other tandems made it over 50 percent.
If Moore is looking to do a better of including others in the passing game – Dotson, Campbell, tight ends, running backs – that likely will translate into Brown and Smith coming in below expectations for fantasy purposes.
With there being other receivers I like for various reasons, I don’t think I’ll be rostering Brown or Smith this year.
| WIDE RECEIVER DUOS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Receiver No. 1 | Receiver No. 2 | No | Yds | TD | PPR | Pct |
| Phil. | A.J. Brown | DeVonta Smith | 187 | 2,522 | 14 | 523.2 | 56.9% |
| L.V. | Davante Adams | Jakobi Meyers | 174 | 1,951 | 16 | 465.1 | 55.7% |
| Mia. | Tyreek Hill | Jaylen Waddle | 191 | 2,813 | 17 | 574.3 | 55.1% |
| T.B. | Mike Evans | Chris Godwin | 162 | 2,279 | 15 | 479.9 | 51.2% |
| Dall. | CeeDee Lamb | Brandin Cooks | 189 | 2,406 | 20 | 549.6 | 49.5% |
| Pitt. | George Pickens | Diontae Johnson | 114 | 1,857 | 10 | 359.7 | 48.4% |
| LAR | Puka Nacua | Cooper Kupp | 164 | 2,223 | 11 | 452.3 | 47.8% |
| Ind. | Michael Pittman | Josh Downs | 177 | 1,923 | 6 | 405.3 | 47.6% |
| Chi. | DJ Moore | Darnell Mooney | 127 | 1,778 | 9 | 358.8 | 46.2% |
| Car. | Adam Thielen | DJ Chark | 138 | 1,539 | 9 | 345.9 | 46.0% |
| Sea. | DK Metcalf | Tyler Lockett | 145 | 2,008 | 13 | 423.8 | 45.8% |
| S.F. | Brandon Aiyuk | Deebo Samuel | 135 | 2,234 | 14 | 442.4 | 44.6% |
| Det. | Amon-Ra St. Brown | Josh Reynolds | 159 | 2,123 | 15 | 461.3 | 44.0% |
| Buff. | Stefon Diggs | Gabe Davis | 152 | 1,929 | 15 | 434.9 | 43.9% |
| Hou. | Nico Collins | Tank Dell | 127 | 2,006 | 15 | 417.6 | 42.1% |
| Cin. | JaMarr Chase | Tyler Boyd | 167 | 1,883 | 9 | 409.3 | 40.6% |
| Cle. | Amari Cooper | Elijah Moore | 131 | 1,890 | 7 | 362.0 | 40.2% |
| Min. | Justin Jefferson | Jordan Addison | 138 | 1,985 | 15 | 426.5 | 39.7% |
| Den. | Courtland Sutton | Jerry Jeudy | 113 | 1,530 | 12 | 338.0 | 39.2% |
| LAC | Keenan Allen | Josh Palmer | 146 | 1,824 | 9 | 382.4 | 38.9% |
| Ten. | DeAndre Hopkins | Chris Moore | 97 | 1,481 | 7 | 287.1 | 38.8% |
| Jac. | Calvin Ridley | Christian Kirk | 133 | 1,803 | 11 | 379.3 | 38.6% |
| N.O. | Chris Olave | Rashid Shaheed | 133 | 1,842 | 10 | 377.2 | 37.9% |
| G.B. | Jayden Reed | Romeo Doubs | 123 | 1,467 | 16 | 365.7 | 37.1% |
| NYJ | Garrett Wilson | Allen Lazard | 118 | 1,353 | 4 | 277.3 | 36.5% |
| Was. | Terry McLaurin | Curtis Samuel | 141 | 1,615 | 8 | 350.5 | 36.2% |
| NYG | Darius Slayton | Wan'Dale Robinson | 110 | 1,295 | 5 | 269.5 | 35.3% |
| Balt. | Zay Flowers | Odell Beckham | 112 | 1,423 | 8 | 302.3 | 34.4% |
| Ari. | Marquise Brown | Michael Wilson | 89 | 1,139 | 7 | 244.9 | 30.4% |
| K.C. | Rashee Rice | Justin Watson | 106 | 1,398 | 10 | 305.8 | 29.8% |
| Atl. | Drake London | Mack Hollins | 87 | 1,156 | 2 | 214.6 | 26.6% |
| N.E. | Demario Douglas | Kendrick Bourne | 86 | 967 | 4 | 206.7 | 26.3% |
—Ian Allan