It looked like it was going to be a thing during the summer and now we have empirical evidence to back it up.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore likes DeVonta Smith in the slot and the fourth-year pro spent most of his time there in the 34-29 season-opening Week 1 win over Green Bay.
Smith played all 76 Eagles offensive snaps against the Packers and a career-high 41 of them came in the slot (53.9%). That percentage number dwarfs Smith's previous usage inside over his first three NFL seasons. The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner's numbers playing in the slot have increased each season from 10.7% as a rookie in 2021 to 21.0% in Year 2 and 24.8% last season.
The shift under Moore more than doubled last season's average.
“I think he just does an excellent job [inside],” Moore said of Smith. “He's got great spatial awareness, great feel for the game. I think when you play inside as a receiver, there's a lot more variables. There's a nickel [cornerback] on top of you, but there's a safety, there's backers. You've got to have the awareness to kind of see -- have great spatial awareness to recognize all those aspects and see how those moving pieces change the picture for you.
"So I think he did an excellent job finding space in the zone a couple times."
Smith finished with seven receptions for 84 yards against the Packers, including two monster first-down receptions on the 7:25 drive in the fourth quarter that siphoned all but 27 seconds from the game.
Moore also focused on a critical 4th-and-3 conversion.
“Big time play where he saw one defender outside of him and one defender inside of him, he tight turned it, hooked it up, Jalen [Hurts] saw him," Moore said. "Those are big-time plays. Those aren't easy to see that spatially in that quick instance. "
Moore played down the big-time slot numbers for Smith, no doubt trying to keep the idea of competitive advanatge alive.
"He'll continue to play outside in different roles and different situations, and we'll move those guys around. A.J. [Brown] will be in there some," Moore said. "That's the beauty of what we have at the receiver group is those guys can play all over the field."
The OC's history with CeeDee Lamb in Dallas and Keenan Allen with the Los Angeles Chargers is public record, however, and Moore's choice for the most slot work in Philadelphia is plainly obvious.
