Dave Zangaro and Reuben Frank discuss two players who turned in costly performances for the Eagles that helped contribute to the playoff loss.
Eagles first round pick DeVonta Smith had a promising rookie season but he still wasn’t satisfied.
Smith set several goals for himself this year but the day after the Eagles’ season ended with a 31-15 loss to the Buccaneers in the wild card round, Smith still wouldn’t share them.
“I’m still not going to share it because I didn’t meet them,” Smith said. “Carry those goals on to next season and try to get those goals next year."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
But he did let it slip in Week 18 that one of his goals was to hit 1,000 yards receiving. He fell short of that but ended up with the Eagles’ rookie record, passing DeSean Jackson’s mark of 912 set back in 2008.
READ: Analyzing list of Eagles' free agents in 2022
The Eagles traded up in April to snag Smith with the No. 10 overall pick from Alabama and he didn’t disappoint. Even in an offense that became very run-heavy, Smith still managed to catch 64 passes for 916 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also made some eye-popping catches.
And even though the Eagles took way too long to get him involved in the playoff game against the Bucs, he still managed to have four catches for 60 yards and made a spectacular grab on a 2-point conversion.
NFL
One of the biggest questions about Smith during the pre-draft process was about his weight and whether or not he’d be able to hold up in the NFL at 170 pounds. Well, he played in every game this season and played through an elbow injury for a lot of the year. He answered those questions.
It was a good rookie season but Smith still feels like he has a lot of room to grow.
“Like I always say, there’s some stuff I left out there,” Smith said. “I’m still not satisfied, I still feel like I can be a whole lot better than what I was.”
When Smith looks back at his rookie season, he won’t remember his numbers or his individual plays first. His biggest memory from his first NFL season will be what his team overcame.
“How this team started out 2-5 and then just flipped the whole season around,” Smith said. “When were were 2-5, I’m pretty sure there was a lot of people that thought was wasn’t going to make the playoffs. And we did that. Just the way that we flipped the season around, controlling our own destiny.”
How did the Eagles turn their season around? Smith said they did it by finding their identity and “our identity was running the ball.”
Of course, being the WR1 on a team that runs the ball as much as the Eagles did in the second half of the season could potentially be frustrating, but Smith just seemed happy the Eagles started winning games.
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube
It’s a long year for any rookie, but especially for Smith. There was the National Championship run, the Heisman Trophy presentation, the pre-draft process, the combine, the draft, then spring workouts, training camp, the longest season in NFL history and a playoff game on top of it.
So the 23-year-old Smith deserves a little break and he’ll get one now.
Then it’s back to work.
“I haven’t really sat there and came up with a plan yet,” he said. “Just continue to grow as a player. Continue to catch passes, things like that. Get stronger. Things that I feel I need to do. As far as a plan, I haven’t sat and thought about it yet.”
But he’ll figure it out soon enough. And the Eagles will undoubtedly have high hopes for Smith entering Year 2.