Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s fantasy football outlook in 2024 does have plenty to do with the addition of running back Saquon Barkley, but he, along with fellow wide receiver A.J. Brown, received big-time contract extensions this offseason.
If you’re looking for some fantasy team name ideas using his likeness, consider names like “DeVonta’s Inferno” or “Smith & Wesson.” However, to name your team after a player, you typically want to have them on your fantasy team. Below, I’ll examine Smith’s value in 2024 and determine if he’s worth drafting or not.
Let’s dive in.
DeVonta Smith’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
A popular fantasy football strategy is stacking your quarterback and wide receiver, and a stack of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Smith is far more likely as Smith is going No. 45 overall as the WR22. Of course, the question here is whether he’s worth that or not.
According to TruMedia, Smith ran 596 routes in 2023. He caught 81 passes on 112 targets for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 13.2 yards per catch, averaged 12.05 air yards per target, and caught 72.3% of his targets.
He played in 624 passing down snaps, which led the team. Smith played in 16 games, but Brown, who played in 17 games, saw 152 targets, caught 106 of them, had 1,456 yards, and had seven scores.
No other player on the Eagles had more than 81 targets (tight end Dallas Goedert), and other than that, no one saw more than 47.
As you can see, this is a top-heavy offense, with Brown and Smith leading the way massively.
Of course, having a quarterback like Jalen Hurts, who also scored 15 touchdowns on the ground, can reduce production.
In 2023, from Weeks 1 to 17, Brown finished as the WR4, and Smith was the WR16.
MORE: 2024 Consensus Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings
Now, the Eagles have brought in Barkley. Barkley has had 247 carries or more in each of the last two seasons and has 41 receptions or more over the last three seasons.
It’s safe to assume his presence will cut into Hurts’ touchdowns, but his pass-catching ability cannot be ignored.
Hurts attempted 538 passes last season, which was the 11th-most in the NFL. His 65.4% completion rate was 12th amongst all quarterbacks with at least 400 dropbacks.
The Eagles have a Week 5 bye week.
Is DeVonta Smith a Good Fantasy Pick?
Coming in as the WR22 in PPR leagues, I think this spot is OK. He finished as the WR16 in PPR leagues, and that was without Barkley, sure, but the team did have D’Andre Swift, who caught 39 passes.
I think there’s a slight hit to his production because Barkley will generate more overall touches than Swift, but it won’t be by too many. Remember, Swift averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 229 carries and had 39 receptions. We could see a repeat of last season.
Smith is a bonafide WR2 in PPR leagues this season. However, because of Barkley’s addition, I’m not sure if I’d aim to stack him and Hurts, especially with Hurts going No. 30 overall in PPR drafts right now.