Extra Points: Eagles Trade Up to Draft DeVonta Smith

Freddie Milons is no longer the answer to an Eagles' trivia question.

Prior to Thursday, he was the last player from the University of Alabama to be drafted by the Birds, who took the wide receiver in the fifth round in 2002.

DeVonta Smith took over the role when the Eagles traded up to select the dynamic wide receiver with the 10th overall pick after working a trade with the rival Dallas Cowboys. As part of the deal, the Cowboys picked Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons at No. 12 and also received a third-round pick from the Eagles.

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The Eagles had no choice but to make a deal after the way the first nine picks unfolded. Smith was among four players linked to Philadelphia prior to the drafts, along with Alabama teammates Jaylen Waddle (wide receiver) and Patrick Surtain (cornerback) and South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Miami, who acquired the No. 6 overall pick in an earlier trade with the Eagles, took Waddle at that spot. Horn went to Carolina two picks later and Denver chose Surtain at No. 9. The Eagles, fearing the New York Giants would grab Smith at No. 11, worked the trade with the Cowboys, who had no problem with moving down after losing out on Horn and Surtain.

Smith, the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner, will be reunited with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts spent his first two college seasons with the Crimson Tide before transferring to Oklahoma.

If he has a possible question mark, it's due to his size. Although he's listed at 175 pounds, the 6-foot-1 speedster reportedly tipped the scales at 166 pounds during a predraft exam.

"That's irrelevant," Smith told The NFL Network earlier this month. "We play football. We're not weightlifters. We're not bodybuilders."

He played football as well as anyone last season. He led the nation with 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns to help the Crimson Tide win the national title.

The Eagles are hoping Smith will be able to end the trend of disappointing wide receivers drafted by the Eagles in recent years. Jalen Reagor, last season's Eagles first-round pick, missed five games with a thumb injury and gained only 385 yards. Justin Jefferson, taken one spot after Reagor by Minnesota, set an NFL rookie receiving record with 1,400 yards.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, a second-round pick in 2019, was taken ahead of Seattle's DK Metcalf and has just 14 career receptions. Nelson Agholor, a first-rounder in 2015, had one good season in 2017, but his inconsistency hurt him. He just signed with New England after a productive season in 2020 with Las Vegas.
The Eagles' wide receiving corps lacks a true, gamebreaking wide receiver. Smith and Reagor are part of group that includes Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward, and 2020 rookies John Hightower and Quez Watkins.

Not exactly a bevy of weapons for Hurts, who is likely thrilled to have Smith in the fold.

"Good players come in all shapes and sizes," Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said in a Zoom press conference last week. "We're not going to discriminate based on any of those things."

Notes: The draft continues Friday with the second and third rounds. Rounds four through seven will be held Saturday. The Eagles have nine more picks, including one apiece in the second and third rounds after trading a third-rounder to Dallas.

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