Roob's 10 Observations: Is DeVonta Smith really a top-10 receiver?

Why did Nick Sirianni really single out Quez Watkins after OTAs? Can Davion Taylor work his way back into the linebacker rotation? Who was the Eagles’ last Pro Bowl punter?

We tackle these pressing questions and lots more in this week’s edition of Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations.

1. There’s been a lot of conversation the last couple weeks about whether DeVonta Smith is a top-10 receiver. I sure can’t name 10 WRs I’d rather have. Here’s what I liked most about Smith’s season in 2022: He came up huge late in the season for a team trying to lock up No. 1 seed, earn a bye and make it to a Super Bowl. It wasn't just about the numbers for Smith. Every snap mattered, every catch mattered. Overall, Smith finished eighth in the NFL among WRs with 1,196 yards, but over the last eight weeks — the most important games of the year — he had 715 yards, and only A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams had more. And only Mike Quick in 1995 (772) and Irving Fryar in 1996 (721) have ever had more for the Eagles the last eight weeks of a season. Then he added 197 yards in three playoff games — including one where the Eagles barely threw the ball — and that’s fifth-most by an Eagle in any postseason. And he became the seventh-youngest player in NFL history with a 100-yard game in a Super Bowl. How many players in NFL history have had 1,196 yards in the regular season and a 100-yard Super Bowl before their 25^th birthday? Just one. DeVonta. I don’t care about meaningless yards on a bad team that throws all the time because they’re down 30 points. I do care about big plays in high-leverage moments for a team chasing a championship, and Smith delivered just about every chance he got. No way there are 10 WRs better than Smith.

2. Here’s a good one: Jalen Hurts last year became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to win 14 games and throw six or fewer interceptions. Tom Brady did it in 2010 (14-2, four INTs), Aaron Rodgers in 2011 (14-1, six INTs) and Patrick Mahomes in 2020 (14-1, six INTs). Decent company right there.

3. It was so out of character for Nick Sirianni to single out Quez Watkins Thursday for supposedly having such a fantastic OTA that it makes you wonder exactly why he did it. Sirianni never singles anybody out in those situations. Are the Eagles trying to boost Watkins’ value in an attempt to try to trade him? That’s possible. But I think what’s most likely is that they’re trying to build up his confidence after his disastrous 2022 season. Watkins has obvious ability and some unique traits, and the Eagles know that an effective Watkins, with his speed and ability to track a deep ball, is a real weapon. But a season like he had last year, culminating in a catastrophic Super Bowl drop, can really sap a player of his confidence, and everything we’ve seen — from a long pass to Watkins on the very first play of the very first open OTA practice to Sirianni’s comments to Jalen Hurts saying Thursday, “I’m excited to see the show he puts on this year” — seems geared to trying to get Watkins mentally back to where he was during his promising and productive 2021 season. If the Eagles can do that, there’s another weapon for an offense loaded with them.

4. Only four NFL players had 700 yards over the last eight games of last season — Justin Jefferson (749), A.J. Brown (771), Davante Adams (732) and DeVonta Smith (715). The Eagles became only the second NFC team ever — and the first in 27 years —with two WRs over 700 yards the last eight weeks of a season. In 1995, Brett Perriman (819) and Herman Moore (927) of the Lions were both well over 700 the last eight weeks of the Lions’ season, leading up to a 58-37 wild-card loss to the Eagles at the Vet. Thanks, Lomas Brown.

5. In their four Super Bowls, only one Eagles running back with 10 or more carries has averaged over 3.0 yards per carry. That was LeGarrette Blount, who was 14-for-90 (6.4) in Super Bowl LII.

6. Over the last two years, Rashaad Penny has the 49th-most games among NFL running backs with 10 carries (nine). But he has the fourth-most games with 10 carries and a 6.5 rushing average with five. So he’s had nine games with 10 carries since 2021 and he’s averaged 6.5 yards per carry in five of them. And 48 players have had more 10-carry games, but only three of them have had more games at 6.5 or higher (Tony Pollard, Lamar Jackson, Nick Chubb). I don't know if it's possible to keep him healthy, but if the Eagles can? Watch out.

7. From 2004 through 2007, Brian Westbrook had four consecutive seasons with 600 rushing yards and 600 receiving yards. Marshall Faulk is the only other back in NFL history with 600 rushing and receiving yards in four seasons — he did it from 1998 through 2001. Only three Eagles aside from Westbrook have even had one 600-600 season (Timmy Brown in 1965, Duce Staley in 2001 and Herschel Walker in 1993). So Westbrook has had more 600-600 seasons than every other player in Eagles history combined.

8. The Eagles have never had a Pro Bowl punter. The last Eagle to lead the NFL in yards per punt was Jack Banta at 44.2 in 1944 in his first season back in the NFL after spending two years as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II.

9. The Eagles are so thin at off-ball linebacker — Nakobe Dean is really the only guy assured of a roster spot right now, and he’s only played 34 career snaps — that a guy like Davion Taylor could get a long look this summer. Taylor spent all last year on the practice squad and hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury against the Saints in November of 2021. But once upon a time — back in 2020 — Taylor was a third-round pick, and his speed and athleticism made him an intriguing prospect. He’s still only 24 and he didn’t play badly in six starts before getting hurt two years ago. He’s back on a futures contract and I’d expect him to get a long look this summer at camp. One issue is that like Dean and Nicholas Morrow, Taylor is another small-ish backer, listed at 230. But the Eagles just need linebackers who can play. Taylor is a long shot but can’t hurt to see what he’s got.

10. My flight from Newark to Heathrow for the Eagles-Jaguars game in 2018 was about 80 percent Eagles fans. During our climbout, one of the flight attendants made an announcement that, “Once we reach a comfortable cruising altitude, alcohol will be served in moderation.” Everybody on the plane immediately began laughing hysterically.