A.J. Brown is a Patriot. The four-year era of the most dangerous wide receiver duo in the NFC is over. And the player who steps out of that era into the brightest spotlight in Philadelphia football is the one who's been quietly preparing for this moment since the Eagles drafted him 10th overall in 2021.
DeVonta Smith is the WR1 now. Here's why that should not concern Eagles fans, even a little.
The receipts (the WR2 version)
Five seasons in Philadelphia. 385 receptions. 5,019 yards. 31 touchdowns. A Super Bowl LIX championship with a dagger touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to put the Chiefs away. Three Pro Bowl-caliber statistical seasons (2022, 2023, 2025) with 1,000-plus yards in each. A rookie season (916 yards) that fell three first downs short of the same mark. A 2024 ring season (833 yards, 8 TDs) where his individual numbers came down because Saquon Barkley was rushing for 2,005 and the offense ran through him.
That's what DeVonta Smith looked like as the WR2. As the player drawing the secondary's second-best matchup. As the player whose targets came after Brown got fed.
The alpha numbers
Now ask what happens when the secondary's best corner doesn't get to live on Smith's hip play after play because the safety has to bracket Brown over the top.
The 2022 NFC Championship Game answered that question, briefly. Smith caught seven passes for 154 yards in a 31-7 NFC title beatdown of the 49ers. That game was the cleanest preview we have of what Smith looks like when the route concepts run through him. He's a separation maven. The hands are elite. The route running is at the top of the league. The blocking is willing in a way most stars don't bother with. That's the player who now gets the priority designs, the third-down concepts, the red zone targets, the goal-line fades.
Smith has averaged roughly 78 catches and 1,000 yards as the WR2. As the WR1 in a Sean Mannion offense built around outside zone and play action over the middle, the floor is closer to 100 catches and 1,200 yards. The ceiling is higher than that.
The Mannion fit
This is the part that matters. Mannion's install in OTAs has Jalen Hurts under center more, with quick game over the middle and play action concepts that drag safeties out of the box. That's a Smith offense. The first quick throw of the first open Mannion practice on May 27 was, ironically, a hitch route to DeVonta Smith. It's a tell. Whether Mannion meant to telegraph it or not, that's what the offense is going to look like in 2026.
The Shanahan style framework Mannion is running rewards the receiver who can win on a slant, run a stop route on time, and turn a 7-yard catch into a 14-yard gain because he beat the first tackle. That's the Smith resume. The over-the-top, contested-catch alpha was Brown. The post-snap technician is Smith. Mannion's offense lives off the post-snap technician.
The supporting cast
The Eagles spent the offseason positioning for life after Brown. Rookie Makai Lemon, the 20th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, is taking first-team reps already and slots in as the WR2 (or 1B) once camp gets going. Hollywood Brown signed a one-year deal to be the field-stretching speed piece. Dontayvion Wicks came over from Green Bay as the WR3/4 depth. Elijah Moore signed to add the slot/jet-sweep wrinkle.
None of those four are A.J. Brown. Together they restore the volume of routes the offense needs to run. And critically, they give Smith help over the top so that defenses can't sit on his stems all afternoon.
The temperament factor
The criticism that has followed Smith his entire career is that he's too quiet. Too understated. Doesn't beg for the ball. Doesn't go viral with sideline outbursts. That criticism has always misunderstood what kind of player Smith is.
When he signed his three-year extension in 2024, Smith said: "It means a lot to my family. All the long nights, early mornings I've been putting in the work to get to where I am. It feels good to see that hard work paying off. The journey is not over. It's just starting."
That's the Smith voice. Process-first, hungry, immune to outside noise. Saquon Barkley described him at OTAs Day 2 as one of the "like-minded guys" with the will to learn and improve, alongside Hurts and Jordan Mailata. That's the locker room positioning. Smith is a foundational player on this roster in the same way Hurts and Mailata are.
And there's a humor underneath the quiet that Eagles fans love. When Smith was asked about the Super Bowl LIX dagger touchdown being the biggest catch of his career, he called it "top three." The other two were against the Washington Commanders. That's the Smith jab. He'll talk shit. He just won't waste energy doing it on the wrong opponents.
What 2026 looks like
The 2026 Eagles' offense will be different. Different play caller. Different formation tendency. Different alpha receiver. Whether it's a better offense than the 2024 championship squad is going to depend on how Hurts and Smith look together when defenses can't pick a side of the field to load against.
The trade-grade pieces from the national media are mixed on what Philadelphia got back (2028 first and a 2027 fifth, less than the 2027 first Roseman wanted). But the football return on losing Brown isn't a draft pick. It's the moment DeVonta Smith stops being the underrated complement and starts being the one on the cover.
He's ready. He has been ready for two years. The journey, in his own words, is just starting.
