There’s plenty of mouths to feed in this Eagles offense.
When they draw last season’s 31st-ranked Vikings passing secondary on Thursday night, it should be an all-inclusive buffet.
The Vikings allowed 265.6 receiving yards per game in 2022 and their cornerback room has only become murkier.
Aside from new addition Byron Murphy Jr., who’s debut in purple featured all five passes tossed his way completed for 35 yards, this is an inexperienced group.
DeVonta Smith should be a large beneficiary against Minnesota as he’ll see plenty of the unproven Akayleb Evans.
While the coverage shadowed A.J. Brown in last year’s 24-7 Eagles victory against Minnesota, Smith reeled in seven catches for 80 yards — a contest where Jalen Hurts threw for 333 yards.
Hurts targeted Smith 10 times against the Patriots in Week 1 — one of those being caught for a red-zone score.
Smith collected only 47 yards, but the 70.4 YPG shifty receiver in the season previous is due for progression in Week 2.
He garnered a 27 percent target share averaging eight per game, which was 13th among NFL receivers — making him arguably the most threatening WR2 in the league.
This is a Vikings secondary that just yielded 117 collective yards and a touchdown to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Betting on the NFL?
Smith finished the 2022 regular season with six consecutive hits on the over for his receiving yards prop.
He and Hurts are in a favorable position to resume that rhythm with a wealth of opportunities on Thursday.
The play: DeVonta Smith over 62.5 receiving yards (-110, FanDuel)
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