The Eagles selected Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft in part because Smith has advanced route skills that bring Marvin Harrison to mind. Smith missed his first preseason game against the Steelers with a sprained MCL he suffered in early August, but he was ready to go against the Patriots on Thursday night.
Right off the bat, Smith was ready to show top-level NFL cornerbacks that his route-running skills extended beyond the collegiate level. On this incompletion, he separates well from J.C. Jackson, who’s one of the best press-man cornerbacks in the NFL.
DeVonta Smith creating just a little bit of separation on his Under route vs. press man pic.twitter.com/R6K0zFtIVW
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) August 20, 2021
Unfortunately, starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was scratched from the game with an illness (the team said that it’s not COVID-related), which meant that Joe Flacco was throwing Smith the ball. And Flacco threw this ball… well, let’s just say it came in a bit late.
The errant throws continued at the start of the second quarter, when Smith did a nice job of separating from Patriots cornerback Joejuan Williams to the boundary, but we’re not sure what Flacco was doing here.
Smith got his first NFL catch one play later, when he beat Williams in off coverage.
.@DeVontaSmith_6's first catch in an Eagles uniform!#NEvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/DrnXBn7epo
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 20, 2021
And this is just ridiculous.
See ya Michael Jackson ✌🏽😂 @DeVontaSmith_6 Lol pic.twitter.com/TXGpKb0ptV
— 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝐵𝓇𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓃 ‼️🧩 (@Lady_Ambition25) August 20, 2021
Smith has already shown excellent ability to separate from just about any type of coverage. Once he gets a quarterback in there who can zing more than hanging sliders, he could be a very dangerous individual in this league.
