Roob's Observations: Even with A.J. gone, Eagles are still loaded on offense

Why DeVonta Smith is poised to thrive as the Eagles’ new WR1, plus a look at the loaded offense and an overlooked Eagles legend

By Reuben Frank • Published June 7, 2026

Why the Eagles’ offense won’t miss a beat without A.J. Brown, a look at DeVonta Smith’s remarkable postseason performance and a vastly under-rated Eagles running back from the 1960s.

Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations keeps rolling through the summer. At our current pace, we’ll have 17,894 total observations for you guys in calendar 2026! 

A.J. OR NOT, OFFENSE IS STILL LOADED: I’m not going to sit here and pretend the Eagles won’t miss A.J. Brown. Even at 29 and with balky knees and a bad attitude, he’s still a really good wide receiver, and we saw that at times last year. But when you focus instead on what the Eagles do have on offense, there is no reason this can’t be a top-five unit in 2026. Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. Three-time 1,000-yard receiver now WR1, a 1^st-round rookie at WR2 and take your pick of Dontayvion Wicks or Hollywood Brown as WR3. A tight end who’s got the 5^th-most yards among tight ends over the last seven years and a promising rookie at TE2. A superstar running back and a backup who averaged 5.9 yards per carry last year. And an offensive line with three Pro Bowlers and an all-pro that’s among the league’s best when healthy. And a play caller who is going to be a massive upgrade. The Eagles’ offense last year averaged 21.1 points, 311 yards, 194 passing yards and 117 rushing yards per game. Pathetic, really. With what they have now? No reason this offense can’t average 30 points, 370 total yards, 230 passing yards and 140 rushing yards per game. They’re loaded. Just focus on what they have, not what they lost.

JALEN HURTS STAT OF THE WEEK: Jalen Hurts has 63 career rushing touchdowns and needs seven to pass Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren for most in franchise history. Van Buren scored 69 from 1944 through 1951. Including playoffs, Hurts already has the most in franchise history with 73, two more than Van Buren. 

WHAT ABOUT DAMEON PIERCE? Veteran running back Dameon Pierce is an interesting addition. Pierce, who signed with the Eagles in March, only has 54 carries over the past two years but had a heck of a rookie year with the Texans in 2022, rushing for 939 yards and four TDs with 30 catches. Now, that was a long tim ago, and he really hasn’t done much since, although he did average 7.3 yards on 40 carries in 2024. The Texans really haven’t had much of an offensive line the last few years, and Pierce didn’t have a lot to work with. He finished last year with the Chiefs but only had four carries. But one upon a time he was a pretty tough, explosive back and behind a capable o-line he could add some juice to the running game. Along with Bijan Robinson and Salem’s Jon Taylor, he’s one of only three NFL running backs with multiple touchdown runs of at least 75 yards over the last five seasons, so there’s something there. The Eagles didn’t pay anything for Pierce, and with a good summer he could make the final roster as a fourth running back behind Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley. Elijah Mitchell, who just signed last week, is in a similar spot, coming off one big year with the 49ers back in 2021 (963 yards, five TDs) and very little since. One of these veteran running backs will probably stick. My money’s on Pierce.

ACTUALLY, PHILLY IS CLOSE TO HEAVEN: We all saw where A.J. Brown said of being in New England, "I know this ain’t heaven, but it’s close to it.” If I’m a member of the Eagles’ organization, I find that insulting and disrespectful. During his time in Philly, Brown had over 5,000 receiving yards, made two Pro Bowls, was a 1^st- or 2^nd-team all-pro three times, reached two Super Bowls, won one and made $87.2 million. And then after playing like garbage in the playoff game against the 49ers and probably costing his team a win, after whining his way out of town and after one freaking OTA practice you’re going to call New England close to heaven? What is wrong with this dude? 

WHAT MADE TIMMY BROWN UNIQUE: Timmy Brown is one of the most under-rated Eagles ever. Brown was a three-time Pro Bowl running back who piled up 3,862 rushing yards with 31 rushing TDs and a 4.3 average. He led the NFL with 5.4 yards per carry in 1965, his final Pro Bowl season. All impressive. But what set Brown apart was his remarkable receiving ability. Brown caught 221 passes for 3,135 yards and 24 more touchdowns during his 10 years with the Eagles, 1959 through 1968. His 14.2 yards per catch is 2^nd-highest in NFL history by a running back (minimum 200 catches), behind only Hall of Famer Lenny Moore. He’s one of only 10 players in NFL history with 2,500 yards both rushing and receiving and 25 touchdowns both rushing and receiving. Brian Westbrook is among the others. To this day, more than half a century after he retired, Brown still ranks third in Eagles history in receiving yards by a running back (behind Westbrook and Keith Byars) and ninth in rushing yards. His 6,447 scrimmage yards are 5^th-most ever by an Eagles running back (behind Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, Wilbert Montgomery and Duce Staley). And no Eagles running back has ever made more Pro Bowls. Brown, Billy Ray Barnes and Shady also made three. Brown is one of the best to do it here and I hope Eagles fans realize it. 

IT WILL NEVER END: How great is it that T.O. and Donovan are still bickering on social media. It’s been 22 years. Totally insane. Totally hilarious. They’ll never stop.

I MISS BOSTON SCOTT: Boston Scott didn’t play in the NFL until 2019 and hasn’t played since 2023, but he still has more touchdowns vs. the Giants since 2017 than anybody else. Boston scored 11 touchdowns against the Giants as an Eagle, and over the past nine years Ezekiel Elliott is next with 10, then Mike Evans (8), Zach Ertz (7) and Jalen Hurts and Terry McLaurin (6 each). In franchise history, only Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith [21], Leroy Kelly [14], Steve Van Buren [13] and Jim Brown [12] as well as Larry Brown [12] have more rushing TDs vs. the Giants than Boston Scott.

DEVONTA IS SO CLUTCH: With A.J. gone, there’s going to be a big focus on DeVonta Smith as he moves back into the No. 1 WR role he held as a rookie in 2021. One thing that makes me super confident in Smith’s ability to lead this group of wide receivers and put up Pro Bowl numbers is his postseason performances since he got here. Smith has been such a clutch playoff receiver, and I don’t know how you can’t have confidence in him handing the No. 1 WR role. What better gauge of a player’s clutch gene is playoff performance? Smith is already the Eagles’ all-time leading postseason receiver with 51 catches for 665 yards, including 100 yards in the first Super Bowl and the dagger 46-yard dagger in the second Super Bowl. The only WR in NFL history with more postseason catches before his 28^thbirthday is Tyreek Hill, and Smith’s career postseason catch percentage – 69.9 – is 6^th-highest all-time among WRs. Smith has always been very good in the regular season. He’s a flat-out superstar in the playoffs and the best postseason WR the Eagles have had. Don’t be surprised if he’s that good all year. 

A.J. VS. DEVONTA:
Here’s a comparison of DeVonta and A.J.’s postseason production:
Yards per game: Smith 67, Brown 42.
Yards per catch: Smith 13.0, Brown 11.9.
Yards per target: Smith 9.1, Brown 6.4.
Catch percentage: Smith 70 percent, Brown 54 percent.

CROSLEY FIELD’S PLACE IN EAGLES HISTORY: Crosley Field, located in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, is best known as the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through 1970, when they moved to Riverfront Stadium on the banks of the Ohio River. But Croley Field, originally named Redland Field, was also the home of the NFL Cincinnati Reds franchise, which lasted just two year, from 1933 through 1934 before being booted out of the league for failing to pay its annual dues. What does this have to do with the Eagles? It was at Redlands Field in Cincinnati in November of 1933 where the Eagles recorded the first win in franchise history, beating the Reds 6-0 on Swede Hanson’s 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The headline in the next day’s Inquirer was: "EAGLES NIP CINCY GRIDMEN,” and the non-bylined story read, "Tall, slab-sided, loose-limbed Swede Hanson, the new Galloping Ghost of the commercial gridiron, raced over the last white stripe today as the Philadelphia Eagles achieved their first conquest of the season, 6 to 0. The Quaker Birds overcame the Cincy Reds to triumph in their first league success and they did it impressively, far, far more impressively than the scanty score would indicate. Hanson, lean and lank and lantern-jawed, was the hero of this game, as he has starred in all the frays in which the Eagles have been a part.” Slab-sided?

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/roobs-observations-devonta-smith-aj-brown/736112/