DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks Are Out Sunday Night: Makai Lemon Becomes Tanner McKee's Top Target Against Washington

The Eagles will head into Sunday night's game in Washington without either of their top two healthy wide receivers. DeVonta Smith (hamstring) has been ruled out after missing practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro, and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) is also out. It is the second straight game both have missed.

That leaves rookie Makai Lemon as the clear No. 1 receiver for quarterback Tanner McKee, who is starting in place of Jalen Hurts. Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season after multiple blood clots were discovered in his lungs before Philadelphia's Week 6 game against Carolina. For fantasy managers, the Sunday night question is simple: how much do you trust a rookie receiver catching passes from a backup quarterback on a road team?

The Eagles' Week 8 injury picture

Philadelphia has been one of the most banged-up teams in the league this month. Along with Smith and Wicks, the Eagles have ruled out several others, including Britain Covey, Jonathan Jones and Jihaad Campbell, according to Athlon Sports. Saquon Barkley carried a questionable tag earlier in the week with a back issue but is expected to play.

Makai Lemon is a flex play with volume upside

The case for Lemon is opportunity. With Smith and Wicks out, the remaining receivers behind him are Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore, and none of them has been a featured part of the offense. Fantasy analysts broadly agree that Lemon is the favorite to command targets on Sunday night; Yahoo's Scott Pianowski gave him a green light, CBS Sports' Jamey Eisenberg named him a Week 8 sleeper, and RotoBaller called the Washington matchup a favorable one.

The case against him is the quarterback. McKee has started since Week 6 and failed to rally the Eagles in his debut. A backup quarterback tends to throw shorter and safer, which is not a bad thing for a slot-capable receiver like Lemon, but it does lower his ceiling. FantasyPros' consensus has him in the low-30s among receivers for the week, which is WR3 territory.

Verdict: start Lemon as a WR3 or flex in 12-team leagues, especially in PPR. In half-PPR or standard formats, he is a borderline flex who needs a touchdown to return a big week.

The rest of the receiver room

Darius Cooper is the deep threat in this group and could see an expanded role. RotoBaller ranked him in the mid-50s among receivers this week, which puts him outside the startable range in all but the deepest leagues. He is a DFS tournament option at a minimum salary.

Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore are veterans with past production but limited current roles. Both are only for the deepest formats. If either one leads the team in routes on Sunday, that would be useful information for the waiver wire on Tuesday, but neither is a start.

Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert get more work

The biggest beneficiary of a depleted receiver room is usually the running back. Saquon Barkley is expected to play through the back issue and should see a heavy workload, including more targets out of the backfield than usual. He remains an RB1 despite the questionable designation earlier in the week. The worry is game script: if Washington builds a lead, the Eagles will have to throw, and McKee's passing game is not built to come from behind.

Dallas Goedert also benefits. Tight ends absorb targets when a team is missing its top two receivers, and McKee will look for the big, reliable target over the middle. Goedert is a TE1 this week.

Betting angle

The Eagles were already road underdogs for this game before the final injury report confirmed Smith and Wicks would sit. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the matchup has lost much of its luster, with Hurts out and the receiving corps depleted. The total should reflect that; it is hard to project a high-scoring game from an offense starting a backup quarterback and a rookie No. 1 receiver.

For props, Lemon's reception total is the most interesting number. If it is set low because of his rookie status and the quarterback situation, the volume argument points to the over. McKee's passing yardage is more of a pass. Verdexed's view of this game is on the NFL predictions page and in the Week 8 picks piece.

What's next

Both Smith and Wicks remain week-to-week, according to FantasyPros. Smith has now missed two games with the hamstring, and soft-tissue injuries are notorious for lingering, so do not assume he is back for the Week 9 home game against the Giants. Watch his practice participation on Wednesday.

If Lemon has a strong game, he becomes a priority waiver add heading into Week 9 regardless of Smith's status, because McKee will be the starter for the rest of the year, and the receiver who builds chemistry with him now is the one who matters later. Add him now if he is still available in your league. The window to get him for free is closing.