The Philadelphia Eagles report to the Jefferson Health Training Complex for the start of 2026 Training Camp on Tuesday, July 28th. Over the next few weeks, PhiladelphiaEagles.com will get you ready by previewing the top storylines at each position. Today, a look at the wide receiver position led by DeVonta Smith.
Did You Know?
DeVonta Smith is the first player from the University of Alabama to catch a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Returning Starter
Out of the 11 wide receivers entering Training Camp, only two were on the Eagles' initial 53-man roster last year: DeVonta Smith and Darius Cooper.
With the departure of A.J. Brown to the Patriots this offseason, Smith is the most productive receiver on the roster. The Eagles' 2021 first-round pick out of Alabama led the team in receiving his rookie year without Brown, with 966 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Smith has been a consistent star on the Eagles' offense, surpassing 1,000 yards in each of the past four seasons (including postseason). The 6-foot, 170-pound receiver is already the Eagles' all-time leader in postseason receiving yards with 665.
There is no mistaking it – the 2020 Heisman winner produces at an elite level despite initial worries coming out of college that Smith was "too thin." Smith's playstyle is defined by his route running, speed, body control, and the ability to make the most jaw-dropping contested and sideline catches.
New to the Nest
Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman got busy in the receiver market during free agency. Hollywood Brown joined the Eagles on a one-year contract in March. Brown spent last season with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he had 587 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
The 5-foot-9 speedy deep threat was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens No. 25 overall in 2019 out of Oklahoma. He played in Baltimore for three seasons, setting a career-high in receptions (91) and receiving yards (1,008) in his final season before getting traded to the Arizona Cardinals.
Brown brings even more speed to an already fast receiving room, having run an official 4.27 40-time back at his Oklahoma Pro Day in 2019. With his history of production, Brown is expected to be heavily involved in the offensive rotation this Training Camp.
The Eagles also signed Elijah Moore to a one-year deal early in free agency after stints with the Bills and Broncos. Moore entered the league as a second-round pick by the New York Jets in 2021 after a standout career at Ole Miss, earning consensus All-American honors in 2020 after leading the nation in yards per game (147.1).
He played his first two NFL seasons with the Jets, catching 80 passes for 984 yards and six touchdowns in 27 games. The Cleveland Browns traded for Moore and a third-round pick in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2023 offseason. With the Browns, Moore's usage increased as he had back-to-back seasons with over 100 targets, averaging 589 receiving yards a season.
In April, the Eagles acquired route-artist Dontayvion Wicks in a trade with the Green Bay Packers for a 2026 fifth-round and 2027 sixth-round pick. The 25-year-old receiver joins the Eagles for his fourth year in the NFL.
Wicks was drafted by the Packers in the fifth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of Virginia—instantly making an impact. The Cavalier finished the 2023 regular season with 581 yards receiving and four touchdowns. What Packer fans remember the most from Wicks that year is the touchdown he scored in the Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys.
The 6-foot-1, 206-pound playmaker is reunited with Eagles Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion, who also joined the Eagles from Green Bay this offseason.
Oh, there is more.
With the 20th pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Makai Lemon out of Southern California. In 2025, the true junior won the Fred Biletnikoff Award, recognizing Lemon as the most outstanding receiver in college football. Through his three seasons in college, Lemon recorded 137 receptions for 2,008 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, with his longest play clocking in at 74 yards.
Lemon, the second receiver taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, will be one to watch during Training Camp, donning the #9 jersey.
Another receiver familiar with Mannion joined the squad. Last month, the Eagles signed former Packers receiver Samori Toure. The 6-foot-1, 196-pound Toure originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Packers out of Nebraska in 2022.
After two years in Green Bay, Toure was released following Training Camp in 2024 and spent time on the Bears' practice squad that season. Toure was on Denver's and New Orleans' practice squads in 2025, getting called up for one game with the Saints.
Finally, the Eagles dipped into the talent pool of the United Football League and signed Erik Ezukanma after June's minicamp. A fourth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 NFL Draft, the former Texas Tech Red Raider spent three years with the Dolphins before being waived ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
Through 12 games with the D.C. Defenders this year, the 6-foot-2 receiver amassed 264 receiving yards for one touchdown, rushed for 71 yards while averaging 8.4 yards per carry in the regular season, and totaled 621 yards on kick returns.
In the Mix
Darius Cooper was the only rookie receiver—and undrafted player—to make the roster last season after Training Camp. Standing at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, the Eagles signed Cooper as an undrafted free agent (UDFA) out of Tarleton State in 2025. In his final season in college, Cooper led Division I NCAA in receiving yards with 1,450—earning first-team FCS All-American honors.
Considered an underdog to make the Eagles' roster in 2025, Cooper was a breakout star in last year's Training Camp, quickly attracting the attention of coaches and media alike. He carried this momentum into his first preseason game with the Eagles, leading the team with 82 yards receiving and a touchdown with six catches. In 2025, the rookie appeared in 13 games for the Eagles.
What type of player is Johnny Wilson do you ask?
Big.
Standing at 6-foot-6, Wilson became the tallest receiver to be drafted in the last decade when the Eagles used their 2024 sixth-round pick on the FSU product. Wilson appeared in all-but-one game his rookie year in Philadelphia on the way to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
Unfortunately, the former second-team All-ACC receiver suffered knee and ankle injuries during Training Camp last year. Wilson needed to have season-ending surgery, missing the 2025 season on IR. Now healthy, Wilson looks towards his third year with the Eagles.
While they may have not been on the opening day roster, there are a few familiar faces from last season entering Training Camp.
The Eagles selected Southern Mississippi's Quez Watkins all the way back in the 2020 NFL Draft. The sixth-round pick hit his stride in his second year, recording 655 receiving yards in the 2022 season (including postseason) with his lone touchdown that year coming on the end of a 91-yard pass from Jalen Hurts—tied for the fifth-longest passing play in Eagles' history.
After four seasons in Philadelphia, Watkins signed with the Steelers in 2024, ending up on their practice squad. Watkins spent the start of the 2025 season on the Cardinals' practice squad before joining the Eagles' practice squad. Now, the 6-foot, 193-pound receiver has a chance this Training Camp to make the roster of the team who drafted him.
Danny Gray enters his fifth season in the NFL after signing to the Eagles' practice squad in 2024. Since being drafted in the third round by the 49ers in 2022, the former SMU Mustang has primarily seen action on special teams throughout his career, bouncing on and off the practice squad.
Gray started his collegiate career at Blinn, a junior college, and eventually transferred to SMU where Gray would earn first-team All-ACC honors in 2021 after posting 803 receiving yards.
Another familiar face from last year's practice squad, veteran special teams return man Britain Covey returns for his fifth NFL season. Covey signed with the Eagles in 2022 as a UDFA out of Utah and bounced between the practice squad and active roster.
In 2025, Covey left the Eagles in free agency and signed with the Rams before quickly returning to the City of Brotherly Love as a member of the practice squad in August 2025. Recently, the 5-foot-8 receiver has gone viral from a clip he posted from an offseason practice, pretending to hurt his hamstring on a route and getting free for a touchdown during 1-on-1s.
Bird Call
DeVonta Smith: "I think that when you have a room like the one we have, it brings the best out in everybody else. Everybody wants to compete. Everybody wants to be the best. We're all there to help each other."
Storylines to Follow
What will DeVonta Smith's role look like in Sean Mannion's offense? ... Will Dontayvion Wicks secure a starting role having played under Mannion before? ... Will any of the special teams receivers stand out on offense in Training Camp? ... How will rookie Makai Lemon perform in his first NFL Training Camp?
How Many Made the Initial 53 in 2025: 5
- Written by Caroline Connor
