Fantasy football managers have been able to count on the Philadelphia Eagles during the Jalen Hurts era and with DeVonta Smith positioned to take on his greatest role, the optimism makes sense. That said, the market has adjusted for that and the price is a bit prohibitive at this point.
DeVonta Smith Is the Wrong WR Bet in Round 3, and Tee Higgins and Zay Flowers Are Why
In the mock that Jason Katz is speaking of, he selected Smith ahead of Tee Higgins and Zay Flowers, a common practice that I simply think is backwards. I’ve got Flowers sitting as my WR12, Higgins WR15, and Smith at WR16, essentially the inverse of what the industry has at this point.
Let’s start with what the Eagles have shown us, not what they might do. This offense doesn’t want to open up, and moving on from AJ Brown doesn’t signal a shift toward more pass game volume. It signals more of the same conservative approach that’s won plenty of games over the years, but has certainly limited fantasy output at times as well.
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Even in the moments Jalen Hurts is asked to win with his arm, the infrastructure behind him has gotten shakier. Per our Offensive Line Impact grading metric, the Eagles ranked sixth in 2021, first in 2022, third in 2023, sixth in 2024, before dropping all the way to 17th in 2025. That’s a real concern given the identity of this team and at least opens up the conversation for this offensive environment not being what it once was.
Smith’s build stands to compound the problem. At 170 pounds soaking wet, he’s never been the player Philadelphia turns to in scoring position, and a 15.9% career red zone target rate reflects that. When an offense is already keeping its pass volume low, touchdowns aren’t a bonus as much as they are a necessity.
It’s possible that the role vacated by Brown goes directly to Smith, but Dallas Goedert was heavily featured in the red zone last season, and the Hurts/Saqon Barkley tandem is good enough to never truly lean into the passing game in close.
None of this means Smith won’t be productive. He’ll likely land somewhere in the 85-catch, 1,100-yard, six-touchdown range again, which is close to what he’s posted across each of his first five pro seasons. That’s a good season, and you’re not losing your league because of it.
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It’s just not better than what Higgins and Flowers have the potential to bring to the table.
Higgins is one of only two wide receivers with 10 or more touchdown catches in each of the past two seasons. Flowers is coming off a career year with real WR1 experience already on his resume and even less target competition than Smith has. Both have a higher ceiling attached to their current price than Smith does with a similar floor, thus making them my preferred options in the middle of Round 3.
The Eagles’ Fantasy Playoff Schedule Makes This Worse
Timing matters here, and the Eagles’ schedule doesn’t do Smith any favors when it counts most for us. Philadelphia draws the Seahawks in Week 15, who owned the NFL’s top scoring defense in 2025, then turns around and faces the Texans in Week 16, who finished as the league’s top yardage defense a season ago.
Those are the two weeks fantasy managers need production from a third-round investment, and Smith’s offense is walking into the toughest stretch on its calendar at the worst possible time. If they are struggling to clear 20 points, it’s very possible that Smith is struggling in a major way, giving you the type of stat links that end your season early.
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This is a close call, and the gap between these three receivers isn’t enormous. But the Ravens and Bengals, for me, project to score 2-4 more points per game than the Eagles, and in an offense that already limits volume, that kind of scoring gap is exactly the difference that decides how these three wideouts stack up over 17 weeks.
Smith will have his spike weeks because he’s a very good player. He’ll also have more weeks capped by an offense, not to mention any learning curve that takes place with the increased defensive attention that he’ll be subject to. Take Flowers or Higgins first in the middle of Round 3 and feel good about it. If both are off the board and you’ve got an RB-heavy build, Smith is a fine consolation prize.
