At Thursday night’s NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Alabama wide receiver and 2020 Heisman winner DeVonta Smith with the number ten pick. The 6’1, 175lb receiver spent four years with the Crimson Tide and racked up 235 catches for 3,965 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also had four rushing attempts for six yards and a touchdown.
In addition to winning the Heisman, Smith also won several other awards like the 2020 SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award, 2020 AP Player of the Year Award, 2020 Maxwell Award, 2020 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, 2020 Fred Biletnikoff Award, and the 2020 Consensus All-American.
The Eagles were slated to pick twelfth but made a trade with the Dallas Cowboys to acquire the tenth pick for the 12th pick and a third-round pick (84th overall). Many Eagles fans expected the team to either take a cornerback, quarterback or trade down. When JayCee Horn (Panthers) and Patrick Surtain II (Broncos) were taken, the Cowboys traded the pick to the Eagles. The Cowboys would take Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons two picks later.
The Eagles had to make this move because the Giants were going to take him, and they were able to get in front of them and draft him. After the pick, the Giants traded the eleventh pick to the Bears for the 20th pick. The Bears would take Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields while the Giants took Florida wide receiver, Kadarius Toney.
It was a surprise to many, including myself, to see the Eagles draft a player they needed. The Eagles have missed more picks than hit. They have hit on some of the picks over the years, like Fletcher Cox, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and Brandon Graham.
Smith played with Hurts for two years at Alabama before Hurts transferred to Oklahoma for his senior season. Now the two are reunited again. When teams draft players from the same school, it can be beneficial for them.
This was a good start for Roseman, but he is not out of the woods just yet. The Eagles have nine more picks to go in the draft. They need to hit on more players like an offensive lineman, cornerback, linebacker, and such if they are going to get back to the playoffs. I think the Eagles will trade some of those picks to either move up or acquire picks for next year’s draft.
With Smith now in the fold, I am looking forward to seeing what Hurts and Smith can do on the field with the other players. The fans got a preview of Hurts last season, and he did a good job for the short time he played.
Now with a weapon like Smith on the field, along with last year’s picks Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins, I think you can expect Hurts to throw plenty of touchdowns passes next year.
