Believe it or not, the NFL preseason already begins Thursday with the Hall of Fame Game between Dallas and Pittsburgh, with all of the other teams playing their first exhibition game next week. The Philadelphia Eagles open their slate on Aug. 19 at home vs. the New England Patriots but will not have first-round rookie receiver DeVonta Smith, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama, for probably the entire preseason as he is dealing with a sprained MCL in his knee.
Obviously, that it's only a sprained MCL is terrific news overall but never a good thing for a rookie to miss time in his first camp or exhibition game action. It obviously costs time for Smith with his new quarterback, who needs seasoning himself, in Jalen Hurts. ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that Smith will miss 2-3 weeks. The regular season is just under six weeks away, so Smith should be good to go Week 1 in Atlanta. Unlike most rookie receivers, Smith already is penciled in as his team's No. 1 guy.
After a record-setting career at Alabama that made Smith the first receiver to win the Heisman since Michigan's Desmond Howard in 1991, Smith "slipped" a bit in the first round of the draft to No. 10 overall – the third wideout taken behind LSU's Ja'Marr Chase at No. 5 to Cincinnati and former Bama teammate Jaylen Waddle to Miami at No. 6 (which was originally Philly's pick) -- because of concerns about his weight at just 166 points.
Smith had 12 career receptions, 207 receiving yards and two receiving TDs from Hurts during their two seasons together at Alabama before Hurts transferred to Oklahoma. At Caesars Sportsbook, Smith is +1600 to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Eagles have never had a winner, which shocked me. No receiver has won it since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 with the Giants.
Meanwhile, Smith is given Over/Under season total of 799.5 receiving yards with the Over a slight -125 favorite and 5 TDs, which the Over a -130 favorite. Philly opens the regular season on Sept. 12 as a 3.5-point underdog at Atlanta. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Smith to catch 3.6 passes for 66 yards and 0.32 TDs in his debut.
Which Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Join SportsLine now to get 2021 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Josh Allen's huge season.
