DeVonta Smith left off a ranking of top talent from the 2021 NFL Draft
It seems like it was just yesterday, the 2021 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles were trying to put a 4-11-1 finish to the previous season behind them, and they owned a selection in the top half of Round 1.
It was the dawn of the Nick Sirianni era. Everyone hoped DeVonta Smith would be the choice in Round 1, but there was some controversy. Some fans and media members hoped the Eagles might go with Micah Parsons or Justin Fields.
Parsons obviously would have given the Birds some defensive punch. Fields would have provided another option at the quarterback position if Philadelphia had determined they weren't sold on Jalen Hurts yet.
Things worked out as they should have. DeVonta with the Eagles, and it's hard to imagine him in another jersey. It's also hard to figure out why he continues to be slighted when we discuss some of the game's great players.
Eagles fans are tired of seeing DeVonta Smith disrespected.
No one will ever forget where they were when DeVonta Smith hauled in that bomb from Tua Tagovailoa in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game or that beautiful toss from Jalen Hurts in Super Bowl 59. He's a former Heisman Trophy winner who also grabbed the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, Fred Biletnikoff Award, and Paul Hornung Award during his final run with the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2020 college football season.
As a rookie, he set an Eagles franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season. He's now a Super Bowl champion and one of the best players at his position, but he has yet to land on a Pro Bowl roster. He is also consistently left off lists like the following:
DeVonta and A.J. Brown were both named on Pro Football Focus's list of the top 32 wide receivers in the NFL, but they couldn't have been further apart. A.J. found his way near the top of the list, and even though DeVonta should have been around the same area, he was fixated on the list's bottom half.
That was noticeable (and controversial), but this FOX ranking felt like the last straw. Fans aren't having it. They've taken to social media to complain. Sure, this is (and fellow Eagle Landon Dickerson is also deserving of a mention), but it does beg the question. Where is DeVonta?
The answer to that question derives from something else that is rarely mentioned. Smith isn't often given the credit he deserves because Philly is home to elite wide receivers.
Fans don't want to vote two Eagles receivers to the Pro Bowl every season. They don't want to name two Eagles as All-Pros. If Smith is placed on most of the NFL's other rosters, he's the top guy on the depth chart, but playing on a roster with so many great players sometimes means he'll be overlooked. That's just how it goes sometimes.
Let's get back to FOX's list. Sure, most who are mentioned are deserving, and that begs the question. Who would be removed if DeVonta is added? That's a debate that would require another 1,000 words or so, but here's where we can begin the discussion. Let's start by giving Smith Trevor Lawrence's spot. What has he ever done to be ranked so high?
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