
Tag: DeVonta Smith


Philly mayor ‘ambivalent’ about greasing poles before Super Bowl
When the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl five years ago, the country was introduced to a local tradition: ecstatic fans climbing light poles.
The Eagles are back in the big game, ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LVII, and the city is starting to prepare for a similar ruckus should the Eagles prevail again.
Greasing the city’s light poles in February 2018 only made the challenge more endearing for some Philly fans, and Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said Tuesday that he doesn’t feel strongly about whether to get the poles slick this time around.
“Greasing the poles keeps more people from climbing up them, but it doesn’t stop everybody,” Kenney told reporters. “So whatever the police thinks we should do, we do. But I’m ambivalent about the poles.”
The tradition has its roots in the city’s Italian Market Festival in the 1960s. It was a friendly competition for some festival-goers to climb a 30-foot pole greased with lard.
City officials greased the light poles last fall ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies clinching the National League pennant and booking their trip to the World Series. Pole-scaling was also on display two weeks ago when the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
“NFC Championship, what I saw from the coverage, it was diverse,” Kenney said. “People of all colors, ethnicities were out dancing with each other. Philadelphia Police were dancing with young kids. There’s a general spirit of good will when you’re successful, and hopefully we can keep that going all year.
“I think we had like eight people arrested out of 20-some thousand, so it’s not that bad. No sense in overreacting.”
–If there’s one position on the roster the Eagles are uncertain about entering the Super Bowl, it’s a surprising one: punter.
Arryn Siposs suffered an ankle injury on his plant leg in mid-December when attempting to advance a blocked punt against the New York Giants. He had to be carted off and was assumed to be done for the season, but his recovery has progressed and last week the Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for Siposs to be activated off injured reserve.
But Siposs has yet to be activated as of Tuesday. Brett Kern is the Eagles’ other option at punter.
“We’re still working through that,” coach Nick Sirianni said in a news conference Tuesday, declining to offer any more details other than saying Siposs looked good in practice last week.
Siposs pinned 16 punts inside the 20-yard line and yielded just three touchbacks in 13 regular-season games.
–DeVonta Smith won two national championships at Alabama before the Eagles picked him 10th overall in the 2021 draft. Making it to his first Super Bowl, therefore, has not appeared to faze him in the slightest.
“I’ve been playing in games like this from little league, middle school, high school, college,” the former Heisman Trophy winner said. “So yeah, I feel like I’m built for games like this. I’ve been playing in games like this all my life, so to me it’s really just another game.”
Smith caught 95 passes for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022, his second NFL season. Being paired with A.J. Brown (88 catches, 1,496 yards, 11 TDs) made for a dynamic receiving game to complement the Eagles’ run-heavy attack.
Smith was asked why the Eagles have faced more man coverage than any NFL team this year.
“I look at it like you have to pick your poison,” he said. “I think some teams would rather just man up than let us just run the ball all day.”
–The Eagles’ defense may have led the NFL with 70 sacks in 2022 — the third-highest single-season mark of all time — but Brandon Graham knows the toughest challenge awaits when up against the slippery, endlessly creative Patrick Mahomes.
“Mahomes is the guy that extends the plays and drops the dimes,” Graham, who had 11 regular-season sacks, told reporters. “You’ve got to make sure you can hit him, get him on the ground, create turnovers, make him make bad throws.”
Haason Reddick, who led the Eagles in the regular season with 16 sacks and had 3.5 more in their two playoff games, called Mahomes “a tremendous talent.”
“I don’t know if you can contain him,” Reddick said. “I just don’t know, he’s that good. I won’t lie, he is.”
Graham, 34, has spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles and was part of the team that won Super Bowl LII under coach Doug Pederson. He said he was grateful that Sirianni kept him and other veterans on the team when he was hired in 2021.
“He kept a lot of us because we give (younger players) something to look up to and I don’t take that for granted,” Graham said. “When I’ve got that C on my chest, I know a lot of guys look up to me so I try to give them something to look up to.”
Counting the postseason, the Eagles have a whopping 78 sacks. That is third most all-time behind the mid-1980s Chicago Bears, who had a record 82 in 1984 and 80 in 1985.
–Field Level Media

49ers Eagles Pick, NFC Title Game Props

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith, S Jaquiski Tartt return to practice
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and safety Jaquiski Tartt returned to practice on Sunday.
Smith has been nursing a groin injury, while Tartt was away from the team dealing with an undisclosed personal matter.
Smith, 23, had 64 catches for 916 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games during his rookie season. The Heisman Trophy recipient was selected by the Eagles with the 10th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
Tartt, 30, totaled 66 tackles — including five for loss — and had one pass deflection in 14 games (all starts) last season with the San Francisco 49ers.
He has 367 tackles, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 80 career games (64 starts) with the 49ers.
–Field Level Media

NFC East NFL Draft Grades

49ers Eagles Betting Pick, Props, Odds, Trends

Eagles rookie WR DeVonta Smith upgraded to day-to-day
Rookie wideout DeVonta Smith has been upgraded to day-to-day by the Philadelphia Eagles, giving the 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft and reigning Heisman Trophy winner a shot at getting some preseason snaps.
Smith had been expected to miss 2-to-3 weeks after suffering a knee sprain in training camp on July 31.
Smith, 22, joined the Eagles for a walkthrough practice Saturday as the team prepares for joint practices with the New England Patriots.
The Eagles and Patriots will meet in a preseason game Thursday.
Head coach Nick Sirianni wasn’t ready to commit to Smith making an appearance.
“I don’t want to put a timetable as far as if he’ll be ready … I don’t know yet,” Sirianni said Saturday, per CBS Sports. “He’s working hard and working hard to get back and our trainers (are) doing a great job of bringing him back. I look forward to seeing him out there in practice soon.”
–Field Level Media

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith week-to-week with knee sprain
First-round pick DeVonta Smith has a knee sprain that will keep him out 1-2 weeks of his first Philadelphia Eagles training camp.
Smith, the 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was injured in the team’s Saturday night practice and underwent testing Sunday.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Smith were teammates at Alabama. Hurts said during minicamp the pro game will not be a challenge for Smith because he’s self-driven and understands the nuances of the position.
“(At Alabama) he was trying to work. We were in the indoor (facility) late at night, getting the work in,” Hurts said. “So I think that shows the mentality he has and I think he’s bringing all of that with him here.”
Jalen Reagor will get more work with Smith sidelined. Reagor, a first-round pick in 2020, did not participate in the first three practices due to a failed conditioning test.
Travis Fulgham, Quez Watkins, John Hightower, JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward are the other receivers competing for spots in training camp.
–Field Level Media

Report: Eagles reach deal with first-round pick DeVonta Smith
The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms with 2021 first-round draft pick DeVonta Smith, multiple outlets reported Thursday.
All first-round draft picks receive a four-year contract with a team-held option for the fifth season.
Per OvertheCap.com, the total value of Smith’s contract is $20.14 million.
The Eagles selected Smith, an Alabama product, with the 10th overall pick of the draft after he became the first wide receiver — and only the fourth wideout overall — to win the Heisman Trophy since Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991.
The Eagles acquired the 10th pick from the Cowboys for the No. 12 pick — which Dallas used to select Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons — and the 84th pick, which the Cowboys used to select Iowa pass rusher Chauncey Golston.
Smith, 22, had 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 TDs last season to lead FBS in each category. He capped his collegiate career with 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns in Alabama’s 52-24 national championship-winning victory over Ohio State in January.
It was the second national title at Alabama for Smith, who left the game against the Buckeyes in the third quarter with a hand injury. Fully recovered, Smith participated in Philadelphia’s rookie camp last month.
–Field Level Media

NFL draft notebook: NFC East drama shakes up first round
After a mostly predictable start, three NFC East rivals cranked up the intrigue in the 2021 NFL Draft with high-stakes maneuvers that reshaped the proceedings.
The Dallas Cowboys, due up at No. 10, openly coveted one of the top two cornerbacks in the class, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II or South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. But the Carolina Panthers made Horn the first defensive player off the board at No. 8 and the Denver Broncos chose Surtain at No. 9, leaving Dallas empty-handed.
Meanwhile, Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith of Alabama was still available at No. 10, with the New York Giants possibly interested in him at No. 11. The Philadelphia Eagles made a rare deal, executing a trade with one division rival to leapfrog another.
The receiver-needy Eagles jumped to the 10th pick to select Smith by trading the 12th and 84th overall picks to the Cowboys. Dallas used the No. 12 pick on Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons rather than a corner.
“When you trade it in the division, you understand that you’re not going to get any values (added) to that, either. It’s going to have to work for them as well,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said.
The turn of events had consequences.
With Smith gone, the Giants instead traded back with the Chicago Bears, who moved up from No. 20 to No. 11 to land Ohio State’s Justin Fields, the fourth quarterback chosen.
At No. 20 the Giants went with a different wide receiver, slot Kadarius Toney of Florida. It marked the first time Dave Gettleman traded back in eight drafts as general manager of the Giants and the Carolina Panthers.
Belichick stands Pat for QB: The New England Patriots didn’t have to trade up to snag one of the best quarterbacks available. Alabama’s Mac Jones fell to the Patriots at No. 15.
Now he’s tasked with becoming New England’s next franchise quarterback more than a year after Tom Brady left for the Buccaneers.
“I can’t wait to play for the greatest franchise in NFL history,” Jones said.
Records for offense, Alabama: The first seven picks of the draft were offensive players for the first time. The previous mark was six straight offensive players to open the 1999 draft.
After quarterbacks went 1-2-3, the Atlanta Falcons selected highly touted tight end Kyle Pitts. The Cincinnati Bengals chose LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase fifth, the Miami Dolphins selected Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle sixth and the Detroit Lions chose Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell seventh.
Nick Saban’s pro factory in Tuscaloosa also had an historic night, as the Crimson Tide tied a record with six players chosen in the first round of a single draft. The 2004 Miami Hurricanes had the first draft class with six first-rounders.
After Waddle, Surtain, Smith and Jones, the Las Vegas Raiders reached at No. 17 for Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood, who projects as a right tackle on their depth chart with Kolton Miller locked in at left tackle. The Pittsburgh Steelers then drafted running back Najee Harris at No. 24 to bolster a thin depth chart at the position.
Jags, Jets take two: The entire NFL knew the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets would select quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson with the first two picks. But both teams had a second first-round pick to spend toward building their teams around their respective rookies.
The Jets owned the Seahawks’ 23rd pick from last year’s Jamal Adams trade. They packaged that and two third-rounders to the Minnesota Vikings to move up to No. 14 and take the top-rated offensive guard in the class, Alijah Vera-Tucker of Southern Cal. Vera-Tucker figures to slot in next to last year’s first-round pick, mammoth tackle Mekhi Becton, to protect Wilson.
The Jaguars used the 25th overall pick (from the Los Angeles Rams in the Jalen Ramsey trade) to reunite Lawrence with his Clemson teammate, running back Travis Etienne. Etienne is the ACC’s all-time leading rusher with high marks of 4,952 yards and 70 touchdowns over four seasons.
–Field Level Media