{"id":882496,"date":"2026-05-04T20:15:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/882496\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:15:36","slug":"how-eagles-star-will-lead-if-a-j-brown-is-traded-thats-what-sticks-out-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/882496\/","title":{"rendered":"How Eagles star will lead if A.J. Brown is traded: \u2018That\u2019s what sticks out to me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 The 2026 season may end up being a career-defining one for Eagles<\/a> wide receiver DeVonta Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not only will he become the Eagles\u2019 No. 1 receiving option when \u2014 not if \u2014 A.J. Brown<\/a> is traded after June 1, but he\u2019ll also be the only WR regular returning from last season. After an offseason receiver-room remake that awaits its biggest move, Smith is ready to assume a bigger leadership role.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m more of a lead-by-example guy,\u201d Smith said before he captained the home team at his fifth annual celebrity softball game on Saturday at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. \u201cI don\u2019t get too vocal unless I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Eagles have overhauled their wide receiver corps. After letting Jahan Dotson<\/a> sign with the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> in free agency, they used their first-round pick in this year\u2019s draft to select Makai Lemon. The team acquired Dontayvion Wicks<\/a> in a trade with the Green Bay Packers<\/a> and immediately gave him a contract extension.<\/p>\n

They also signed Hollywood Brown<\/a> and Elijah Moore<\/a> to one-year deals. Those moves, coupled with the returns of Darius Cooper<\/a>, Johnny Wilson<\/a>, Quez Watkins<\/a> and Britain Covey<\/a>, give the Eagles a receiving room filled with many different skill sets and identities.<\/p>\n

Brown has been a subject of trade rumors for months. The Eagles will be able to split Brown\u2019s $40 million cap hit between 2026 and 2027 if they trade Brown after June 1.<\/p>\n

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While Brown is a physical, 6-1, 226-pound receiver, Smith, at 6-feet, 170 pounds, beats opponents with speed. Smith also has a more buttoned-up personality than Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just the way I prepare,\u201d Smith said. \u201cA lot of guys want to know what I do to prepare and how I prepare week in and week out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, the Eagles\u2019 longest-tenured receiver, served as a captain for two years at Alabama and again during the 2023 season with Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata<\/a> said Smith has been a leader since Philadelphia drafted him in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s his consistency,\u201d Mailata said. \u201cThat\u2019s what sticks out to me. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re on the field or off the field. I think his character is the same on both levels, and it doesn\u2019t waver. It doesn\u2019t change. As a leader in that locker room, you need that, and I think that\u2019s his biggest quality as a teammate and also a leader of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MORE BY<\/p>\n

CHRIS FRANKLIN<\/p>\n

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Part of being a good leader is performing well on the field, and Smith has done that throughout his career. Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin<\/a> has trained alongside Smith this offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has always worked hard,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cHe always trained to be the best at what he did. Guys like DeVonta don\u2019t have to change their work ethic when opportunity comes because they are always working for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Last season, Smith finished with 77 receptions for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns \u2014 numbers that could increase if he steps into the No. 1 receiver role.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on NJ.com<\/a>. Add NJ.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 The 2026 season may end up being a career-defining one for Eagles wide receiver DeVonta…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2068],"tags":[8694,254,1721,39200,5640,3992,25,6084,7,345,6670,7191,10490,13945,6,242,109,2476,11668,4995],"class_list":{"0":"post-882496","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-a-j-brown","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-britain-covey","11":"tag-darius-cooper","12":"tag-devonta-smith","13":"tag-dontayvion-wicks","14":"tag-eagles","15":"tag-elijah-moore","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-green-bay-packers","18":"tag-hollywood-brown","19":"tag-jahan-dotson","20":"tag-johnny-wilson","21":"tag-jordan-mailata","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-philadelphia","24":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","25":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","26":"tag-quez-watkins","27":"tag-zaire-franklin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116518146755330333","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}