The Philadelphia Eagles announced today that wide receiver Devonta Smith was sidelined from practice today with a headache. 

I’ve officially seen it all from this Philadelphia Eagles team, and I can completely understand why Devonta would have a headache. When you have a head coach who just compared your football team to a flower, my head would hurt too. In his first seven games in the NFL, Smith has caught 32 passes for 406 yards with one touchdown.

For Eagles standards, those numbers aren’t too bad, but they should be much better. In his final year at Alabama, Smith found the endzone 24 times and has only scored once in his first seven games. It’s not just Nick Sirianni’s fault; some of the blame has to go on Jalen Hurts as well. The poor play of Jalen Hurts has impacted a potential rookie of year campaign from DeVonta Smith.

There have been numerous occasions where DeVonta Smith was wide open, and Hurts just didn’t look his way. Smith has had some drops recently, including three last week, but that should be no excuse for his low production. The Eagles finally have a number one receiver and don’t know how to use him. The Bengals are a perfect blueprint for any team on utilizing a rookie wide receiver. Fifth overall pick Ja’Marr Chase is on pace for a historic season. In seven games, Chase has 35 catches for 754 yards and six touchdowns. 

This Sunday could be a massive game for DeVonta against the winless Detroit Lions. They have a 22nd ranked pass defense and are allowing 282 yards in the air their past three games.

Mandatory Credit: USA Today