Nick Sirianni stood at the podium at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on Tuesday for his first mandatory minicamp press conference of the year and finally said it out loud.
"DeVonta Smith has had a really good offseason, has had five good years of being an Eagle, very productive. Excited that he's going to get extra opportunities that he works so hard to deserve.", Nick Sirianni
Translation: The DeVonta Smith WR1 era is no longer a transition. It is here. A.J. Brown is in Foxborough. The new offense under Sean Mannion is being installed. The targets, the volume, the route concepts, and the first-read share that A.J. Brown commanded for four seasons now belong to Smith.
The Resume That Earned It
Smith's promotion is not a project. It is the product of five years of doing the exact job at an All-Pro-adjacent level.
- 5 seasons as an Eagle (2021-2025)
- 385 receptions
- 5,019 receiving yards
- 31 receiving touchdowns
- Super Bowl LIX champion
- 2020 Heisman Trophy winner (first WR since Desmond Howard, 1991)
Three of his five NFL seasons have produced 1,000+ receiving yards (2022, 2023, 2025), all while playing WR2 alongside Brown. In 2025, Smith led the team in receiving yards (1,008) for the first time since his rookie year. The handoff was already happening in production. The 2026 season just formalizes it.
The Endorsements Are Stacking
The thing that has separated this offseason from a normal transition is how publicly the locker room and front office have lined up behind Smith.
James Palmer (NFL Network insider): "What I have been told this offseason is he has been a man possessed about 'I am going to step into this number one role.' Calling former receivers, asking them about different things this offseason."
DeSean Jackson (on Up & Adams with Kay Adams): "DeVonta Smith, he's not a dominant personality, but he's a worker and he's the monster. In his mind, he's always been the number one guy. For him, nothing changes. The only thing that changes is he may get more targets now."
Jalen Hurts: "It's been a really good process so far. You can definitely see the vision" (on Mannion's new offense, which is built around Smith as the centerpiece read).
Nick Sirianni: "Excited that he's going to get extra opportunities that he works so hard to deserve."
That kind of public alignment between a Hall of Fame Eagles legend, the head coach, an NFL insider, and the quarterback rarely happens for a player who is already on the roster. It is happening for Smith because the building has been watching him work for this for five years.
What Changes in 2026
The Smitty Era is not just about getting more targets. It is about the structure of the offense reshaping around him.
Target share: Brown's 5,034 receiving yards over four Eagles seasons came with 100-plus targets per year. A meaningful share of that volume is going to Smith.
Route concepts: Mannion's scheme leans on outside zone, motion, and middle-of-the-field route concepts. Smith's route-running detail (his single biggest strength) is the perfect fit for the deception and timing concepts the offense will run.
Red zone: Smith caught 8 TDs in 2024 and 4 in 2025. With more high-leverage targets, the TD number should jump.
The Makai Lemon factor: The Eagles drafted Lemon at #20 to play WR2 alongside Smith. Lemon's hamstring kept him out of the open OTAs, but when healthy, his speed-and-separation skill set takes coverage off Smith the same way Smith has been taking coverage off Brown for four years. Smith finally gets to be the receiver who is not being doubled.
The Bottom Line
For five years, the conversation around the Eagles offense was "A.J. and DeVonta." Now it is "DeVonta and Makai." That is not a downgrade. It is a long-overdue promotion for a player who was already producing like a WR1 and was just waiting on the depth chart to catch up.
Smith does not need to be louder. He does not need to change his game. He needs to keep doing exactly what he has done for five seasons (precise routes, hands you can trust, plays in the biggest moments) and now he gets the volume to do it on. The Heisman pedigree. The Super Bowl ring. The Dagger. The five-year body of work. All of it earns the title that is now officially his.
The Smitty Era is here. WR1. Built for this.
Watch the Moments
The endorsements stacking up around DeVonta Smith's WR1 promotion, in their own words.
Sirianni: DeVonta Smith's "Extra Opportunities"
Video: Philadelphia Eagles (June 9, 2026 press conference)
DeSean Jackson: "He's the Monster"
Video: Up & Adams with Kay Adams (FanDuel TV)
DeVonta Smith: "I'm Just Doing My Job"
Video: Philadelphia Eagles (June 2, 2026 press conference)
