The Eagles sent the Packers 5th- and 6th-round picks for wideout Dontayvion Wicks yesterday. It's a momentous deal, I think, for a lot of reasons -- what it says and what it suggests.
First the obvious. The Eagles have DeVonta Smith under contract, they signed Hollywood Brown for $6.5 million last month, and now they've given up two draft picks for Wicks, signing him to a one-year, $12.5 million contract extension. Now, Philadelphia has barely even thrown to a third wide receiver in recent years, so it would be implausible that they're bringing in Wicks to be the No. 4.
Logically, the long-rumored A.J. Brown trade to Dianna Russini's favorite team is going to happen soon. If those of us in the magazine business are lucky, it will be announced sooner rather than later, even if it isn't official until after June 1st (when the cap ramifications are more favorable for Philadelphia). But it sure seems like Brown and another former Packer, Romeo Doubs, will be New England's top 2 wideouts this season, while Philly's top 3 will be Smith and some combination of Wicks and Hollywood.
Those hoping to invest in a Packers wideout also can be happy about this development. Green Bay has spread things around to 4-5 different wideouts in recent years, but with Doubs and Wicks gone it's now Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden, basically. They've got other warm bodies to chuck onto the field, but Wicks' removal from the equation is a positive for the guys who are left.
As for Wicks himself, I think Hollywood is a marginal enough player at this point in his career that he could be the No. 2, assuming A.J. is gone. Wicks had limited opportunities in Green Bay's frustrating passing game, but was productive with his chances.
Over the past three seasons, Wicks saw 5 targets in a game 16 times. He caught at least 4 passes in 11 of those games, and scored 10-plus fantasy points (PPR) in half of them. Three times he caught 2 TDs.
| WICKS WITH 5-PLUS TARGETS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Pts |
| 2023 | T.B. | 7 | 6 | 97 | 0 | 15.7 |
| 2023 | Chi. | 7 | 6 | 61 | 2 | 24.1 |
| 2023 | N.O. | 6 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 8.5 |
| 2023 | at NYG | 6 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | LAC | 5 | 3 | 91 | 0 | 12.1 |
| 2024 | Min. | 13 | 5 | 78 | 2 | 24.8 |
| 2024 | at LAR | 7 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | N.O. | 7 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 10.3 |
| 2024 | Hou. | 6 | 3 | 48 | 1 | 13.8 |
| 2024 | Chi. | 6 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 10.0 |
| 2024 | Mia. | 5 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 7.0 |
| 2024 | at Det. | 5 | 4 | 49 | 0 | 8.9 |
| 2024 | at Min. | 5 | 4 | 43 | 0 | 8.3 |
| 2025 | Phi. | 8 | 4 | 38 | 0 | 7.8 |
| 2025 | at Det. | 7 | 6 | 94 | 2 | 27.4 |
| 2025 | Was. | 6 | 4 | 44 | 0 | 8.4 |
I won't beat the drum for him too loudly. Brown hasn't yet been traded, Hollywood is around, and the Eagles won't necessarily be lighting up the night passing it (this was the 23rd-ranked passing offense a year ago). But they've got a new coordinator, and the compensation they gave up for Wicks, both picks and money, suggests they see some value there.
At least in Philadelphia, maybe he'll be more usable than he's been in Green Bay.
--Andy Richardson
