Who is the Philadelphia Eagles’ WR3 behind AJ Brown and DeVona Smith?
Is it the most tenured player in the group, punter returned-turned-offensive weapon Britain Covey? Or how about rookie sixth-round pick Johnny Wilson, who has thoroughly lapped fifth-rounder Ainias Smith for playing time? Could it be free agent signee Parris Campbell, who signed with the team in March, or John Ross, who was a later addition in May following DeVante Parker’s retirement?
Needless to say, the Eagles have options, but do they have a good one? If Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni aren’t too sure, there is still time to get something done and bring some new talent to town, with one particularly interesting option in Houston potentially on the trade block in Noah Brown.
Originally drafted in the seventh round out of Ohio State by the Cowboys, Brown slowly but surely worked his way up the Dallas depth chart, going from 161 offensive snaps as a rookie to 822 as a 13-game starter in 2022 under then-offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Hmm… why does that name sound familiar? Oh yeah, because he’s the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator.
Signing with the Houston Texans in 2023 on a one-year, $2.6 million contract, Brown had his best year as a pro, catching 33 balls on 55 targets for 567 yards and two touchdowns as one of CJ Stroud’s favorite targets. Brown proved a reliable veteran option paired up with homegrown talents like Nico Collins and Tank Dell and was able to back up his production as a receiver with his talent as a blocker, which offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik brought over from San Francisco, where his WR3 Jauan Jennings earned his bones as a do-it-all utility man.
So why, you may ask, would it make sense for the Texans to trade Brown a few months after signing him to a new $4 million contract? Well, because they traded for Stefon Diggs, who is guaranteed a starting spot next to Collins and Dell this fall.
Now granted, could the Texans keep Brown? Sure, but they have a few other interesting receivers in John Metchie III, Robert Woods, and do-it-all WR/FB Ben Skowronek, who could demand playing time this fall, which makes Brown expendable. If the Eagles offer up a mid-level Day 3 pick, something like a sixth-round pick, who knows, maybe Moore could reunite with his former Cowboys starter and give him the bulk of the WR3 looks this fall, with Ross and Campbell – assuming health – subbing in when they need some speed, Covey used on screens, and Wilson deployed in run-heavy sets, potentially right alongside the OSU product.
Nick Sirianni believes the Eagles have options at WR3
While more than a few fans in Philadelphia would love to see the Eagles land a legitimate WR3 to fully flesh out Moore’s offense, Sirianni was asked about the team’s current collection of stars heading into the regular season earlier this month and let it be known that he actually likes the players who are currently in camp, as they all have different talents that could make the offense incredibly versatile.
“Again, when you have a receiving corps you’re looking for different skill sets so you can run different styles of plays, get the guys the ball different ways. As far as the No. 3 receiver, I mean, it can be a lot of different things, but you need different types of skillsets, and I’m really excited about the skillsets we have at the No. 3 receiver,” Sirianni told reporters.
“It doesn’t have to be all from one guy, right? It can be [WR] Johnny Wilson’s blocking; [WR] Parris Campbell’s ability to run with the ball in his hands and do different things with the ball in his hands; could be [WR] John Ross’ speed.
“So, yeah, you’re looking for different things on different plays. Could be [WR] Britain Covey’s ability in the slot. Again, not one person has to fill the role of anything. And it could. We’re far away from having to play that and some games could look different than others. Like I said the other day, I’m really excited about the depth that we have here at wide receiver position and all the different skill sets that we have.”
Now granted, would it really make any sense for Sirianni to go out of his way to trash all of his current receivers, noting that none of them are worthy of a starting spot behind Brown and Smith? Yeah, even the most critical head coach wouldn’t do that in August without so much as a live snap against another team on tape, but then again, there’s an old John Madden adage that states if you have two starting quarterbacks, you have none, so what does that say about having four WR3s?
