The Philadelphia Eagles had a ton of major storylines affecting the wide receiver position this offseason. The biggest was, of course, the decision to trade AJ Brown to the New England Patriots.
This then caused a trickle-down effect that led to the first-round selection of Makai Lemon. Now the Eagles have a receiver room with DeVonta Smith as the clear cut number one receiver. How will that hold up?
All of these storylines and uncertainties leading into the season, you’d have to imagine the focus would be centered on that.
This is where Dontayvion Wicks comes into play. A WR who has been going under the radar from a national standpoint. Philadelphia is starting to realize how good he is, and he is poised to surprise many more around the NFL during the 2026 season.
Wicks is a wide receiver who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played three seasons of college football at Virginia, where he had 1,694 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 30 games played.
Wicks spent three seasons with the Packers before being traded to Philadelphia this offseason. He showed flashes of potential many times through his tenure in Green Bay.
Wicks had 1,328 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 46 games played (18 starts). His best season came his rookie year, when he had a career-high 581 yards and four touchdowns.
He is now 25 years old entering his first season with the Eagles. Wicks was acquired in April for multiple day-three draft picks. He signed a one-year extension worth $12.5 million once the trade went through.
Eagles fans initially expected this to be a depth move that would end up with Wicks being the WR4 behind Smith, Lemon, and free-agent signing Hollywood Brown.
Since then, Brown has really struggled in camp, and Lemon has battled injuries. Wicks has spent a majority of the offseason as Hurts’ second option in the passing game.
Wicks has thrived in this opportunity, generating a ton of hype out of training camp.
The Eagles’ new offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion, was with Wicks on the Packers last season. The belief is that the scheme he is bringing to Philadelphia will be similar to what Wicks is used to. Could that be a reason for his early success?
Wicks is the biggest wide receiver on the roster, although that is not saying much. He should be one of the main redzone contributors this season.
The Eagles offense will need to replace nearly 30% of their targets inside the 20 following the departure of AJ Brown.
Wicks has performed well enough in camp to earn a spot as the WR2 behind Devonta Smith.
Smith will enter the 2026 season as the number one wide receiver on the Eagles after the departure of AJ Brown. This should tell us a lot about the type of receiver Smith is. Can he be an elite receiver when given the targets elite receivers are given? It’s easy to say yes, but the production on the field will be the only way to actually figure it out.
Makai Lemon will be the starting slot receiver and WR3 when he begins his rookie season. The first-round pick has battled a hamstring injury for a majority of the offseason.
The Eagles will likely be cautious when getting Lemon into game action. Wicks has a head start to begin the season considering his familiarity with the system and training camp performance.
Wicks will have at the very least the first three or four weeks to prove himself as a reliable target for Jalen Hurts. Lemon will be eased in, and that’s the time Wicks has to show out. He has all the talent to do so; let’s see if he can put it on display.
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