Eagles' Darius Slay: DeVonta Smith Will Be Discussed as NFL's Best WR Soon

After Philadelphia Eagles star DeVonta Smith took a step forward in his second season, one of his teammates is expecting bigger things from the young wide receiver in 2023.

Darius Slay told reporters after Tuesday's practice Smith will soon be talked about as the best receiver in the NFL.

"He got all the tools," Slay said. "I told him, 'You know, it ain't going to be too much longer we're going to be saying Smitty the best receiver in the league,' for sure. It ain't gonna be too much longer."

The problem with Slay's assessment is Smith is arguably the second-best receiver on the Eagles roster. A.J. Brown was voted the seventh-best wideout in the NFL by a group of coaches, executives, scouts and players organized by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Smith made the honorable mention section, with one scout offering this assessment: "Excellent at the nuances of the position. Really good pure receiver. Needs to win at the line with technique due to his size, but he does that well."

Brown is still very much in the prime of his career at 26 years old. If you're a team trying to figure out who your best wide receiver is because the two best options are legitimately top-15 players at the position, you're doing well.

It's interesting looking back at the pre-draft scouting reports for Smith when he was coming out Alabama. He was generally regarded as a top-10 prospect, but the primary concern was his slender frame.

Smith ranked in the second percentile in weight, 35th percentile in height and 39th percentile in hand size.

The Eagles weren't deterred by those numbers, especially in the wake of his final two seasons at Alabama. He became the first wide receiver in 29 years to win the Heisman Trophy when he took home the award in 2020.

Smith has had no difficulty adjusting to the NFL so far. The 24-year-old led the team with 916 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie.

The addition of Brown to the receiving corps last offseason did nothing to cut into Smith's production. He actually got better with 95 receptions, 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns.

It wouldn't be a surprise if Smith's numbers in 2023 are better than Brown's because they are both fantastic players with unique skill sets that complement each other very well.