Eagles already winning the wide receiver battle with Patriots after Romeo Doubs’ disastrous Week 1
Philadelphia chose the better Packers available wide receiver, and they got the one who was actually cheaper too.
Dontayvion Wicks is quietly building something special with Jalen Hurts, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ offseason moves at wide receiver are already looking like a masterclass compared to what the New England Patriots rolled out in Week 1. Between the quarterback play, the receiver production, and the draft capital Philadelphia is stockpiling, Howie Roseman might have pulled off another fleece.
Wicks spoke about developing chemistry with Hurts, and it’s the kind of stuff Eagles fans love to hear.
“It’s come a long way through the camp, through summer, and through the offseason,” Wicks said. “I think those are the little things people don’t see that come to light when it’s time to go out on the field. There are times during camp you see it, you see the chemistry being built, and that’s not from going out and practice, that’s from doing things off the field, away from the cameras.”
Somebody else putting praise on Jalen, advocating for his leadership and how he is maturing as a quarterback. We’ve heard it from Saquon Barkley, we’ve heard it from DeVonta Smith, and now Wicks is adding his name to that list. The culture Hurts is building in that locker room continues to show itself.
The Patriots’ wide receiver situation is already a disaster
But let’s get back to the New England conversation, because the Drake Maye versus Jalen Hurts storyline dominated the night. Maye is not that good. Jalen Hurts throws a better ball than Drake Maye does, and A.J. Brown made a colossal mistake. We already knew the Eagles won the quarterback side of this whole saga. But how about Philadelphia getting the better end on the wide receiver as well?
The Patriots signed Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million deal. That’s $17 million per year. Meanwhile, new Eagles’ offensive coordinator Sean Mannion comes over from the Green Bay Packers, says nope, we’ll take Dontayvion Wicks for $12.5 million and some late-round picks. On Wednesday night, Romeo Doubs dropped maybe the most wide-open pass I have ever seen. It was brutal.
“I just wasn’t that locked in on the football,” Doubs said after the game. “I have to be better.”
At halftime, Doubs had only played 12 out of 32 snaps with zero targets. By the end of the game, he finished with three targets and zero catches. Did not catch one football. That is not what you want to see from your $17 million per year wide receiver in his first game with a new team. Meanwhile, Wicks is over here building real chemistry with Hurts and doing it for significantly less money.
A.J. Brown trade keeps paying dividends for Philly
So obviously the Eagles had the better end of the quarterback stick. Well, how about the wide receiver too? An absolute fleecing by Howie Roseman. The Patriots honestly are looking cooked. I know it’s only Week 1, but think about where New England is right now. They traded away Kayshon Boutte. They do not have A.J. Brown for at least a few weeks. Doubs couldn’t catch a football. And that first-round pick the Eagles got back in return for next season is already starting to look like gold.
Howie keeps finding ways to turn other teams’ desperation into Eagles draft capital, and the early returns on this one could not be more lopsided.
