DeVonta Smith Is Out Against the Rams and Dontayvion Wicks Leads a Thin Eagles Receiver Room
By Verdexed NFL Desk
The Philadelphia Eagles ruled out DeVonta Smith on Friday with a hamstring injury, and the timing could hardly be worse. Smith did not practice at all this week after playing through the injury in the Week 3 loss at Chicago, where he logged all 50 offensive snaps. The Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams at 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, and per the Philadelphia Inquirer and league sources, the hamstring could cost Smith multiple games, with two to three the working estimate.
Smith is not the only pass catcher missing. Philadelphia ruled out six players in total, including wide receiver Hollywood Brown, tight end Dallas Goedert (knee) and linebacker Zack Baun (concussion). With A.J. Brown traded to New England in June, Jalen Hurts walks into a game against a Rams defense the Eagles' own staff calls loaded with talent without his top three receiving options from the start of the season.
What the Eagles have left
Through three games Smith had 19 receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown, the clear No. 1 on the team. With Smith and Brown sidelined, the Eagles are down to five receivers on the active roster, per multiple Philadelphia outlets.
| Player | Position | Week 4 status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeVonta Smith | WR | Out | Hamstring, could miss two to three games |
| Hollywood Brown | WR | Out | Ruled out Friday |
| Dallas Goedert | TE | Out | Knee (MCL sprain suffered in Week 2) |
| Dontayvion Wicks | WR | Active | 15 targets, 9 catches, 179 yards, 1 TD through three games |
| Makai Lemon | WR | Active | Rookie first-rounder, 70% of snaps in Week 3 |
| Elijah Moore | WR | Active | Depth receiver |
| Darius Cooper | WR | Active | Depth receiver |
| Britain Covey | WR | Active | Depth receiver |
| Zach Ertz / Johnny Mundt | TE | Active | Share tight end work with Goedert out |
The list tells the story. Dontayvion Wicks inherits the No. 1 role, and he has already earned Hurts' trust: 15 targets, nine catches, 179 yards and a touchdown on the year. He told reporters Thursday he was ready for a bigger role, and the Eagles have nobody else with his downfield production.
Makai Lemon is the more interesting fantasy question. The rookie first-round pick played 35 of 50 snaps (70 percent) against Chicago and caught 3 of 4 targets for 29 yards. His best game as a pro opened with a 19-yard crosser on Philadelphia's first play, but two of his four targets came at or behind the line of scrimmage and none traveled more than eight yards downfield. The snap share is real; the usage has been short-area.
Fantasy fallout
Wicks is a WR3 with upside this week. He has the most efficient profile of any healthy Eagles receiver and should lead the room in routes. The concern is the overall environment: Philadelphia scored seven points in Chicago, and losing Smith, Brown and Goedert at once removes the reasons defenses had to spread out. The Rams will get to roll coverage toward Wicks, which caps his ceiling even as his target floor rises.
Lemon is a deep-league flex and a stash. A first-round rookie playing 70 percent of the snaps before the injuries is going to play more now. If the Eagles expand his route tree beyond screens and crossers, he becomes a weekly option during Smith's absence. In 12-team leagues he is worth a bench spot this weekend, ahead of chasing one-week waiver names.
Zach Ertz is a streamer, not a solution. Ertz and Johnny Mundt split the Goedert snaps. Ertz's veteran route running makes him the preferred option, but neither is a confident start outside deep formats.
Jalen Hurts takes the biggest hit. His rushing floor keeps him in lineups, but his passing ceiling shrinks against a strong Rams front. Managers with a comparable alternative in a better matchup should consider it. Smith managers should bench him without a second thought and look ahead: if the two-to-three-week estimate holds, he also misses at least next week.
The Rams side of the ledger
The injury news is not one-sided. The Rams ruled out defensive lineman Aaron Donald (back), cornerback Jaylen Watson and tight end Terrance Ferguson, who was placed on injured reserve Friday. Donald's injury was described by NFL Network as mild, and the Rams are handling it with a long-term view; it is still a meaningful loss against an Eagles line that would otherwise be facing him in obvious passing downs.
On offense, Los Angeles gets Puka Nacua back. The Rams listed him as good to go after a hip issue, and with Ferguson out, tight end Colby Parkinson is questionable, so the Rams' target tree should concentrate around Nacua and Davante Adams.
The net effect: Philadelphia loses three of its top pass catchers, while the Rams lose a game-wrecking interior rusher and a starting corner. The Eagles' offensive line is the unit that benefits most from Donald's absence, which matters for Hurts' scrambling lanes and the Philadelphia run game.
Betting angle
The market has the Rams as road favorites. Per the SI and BetMGM boards this week, the spread sits at Rams -3 (with some books at -2.5 or -3.5), the moneyline is Rams -155 and Eagles +130, and the total is around 44.5, with a range of 42.5 to 46 across books.
The injury picture argues more for the total than the side. Philadelphia's passing game has been thin already, and the Eagles are now relying on a receiver room headlined by Wicks and a rookie. That pushes the Eagles toward a slower, run-heavy script, which tends to shorten games. Bettors looking at player props should treat Wicks receiving overs with care: volume should rise, but a narrowing of the passing game can cut both ways if Philadelphia leans on the ground.
On the side, the key number is 3. If a book hangs Rams -2.5, that is the cleaner number for anyone backing Los Angeles. Anyone taking Philadelphia wants +3 or better. For how the Verdexed model weighs the Smith absence against Donald's, see /nfl/predictions and the weekly board at /blog/nfl-week-4-picks-2026.
What to do in your league
- Start: Dontayvion Wicks as a WR3 or flex in 12-team formats. - Stash: Makai Lemon, especially if your bench has a dead spot. - Bench: DeVonta Smith (out) and Dallas Goedert (out). Do not leave either in a lineup. - Monitor: Jalen Hurts' passing volume. A low-yardage, high-rushing game is the most likely shape. - Waiver priority: Lemon over Ertz. The rookie has the longer runway if Smith's absence stretches.
What's next
The Eagles have not given a firm return timeline, and the multi-game estimate comes from league sources rather than the team. Watch Wednesday's practice report next week: if Smith is a non-participant again, plan for a second straight absence. Goedert was given a multi-week timeline after his Week 2 MCL sprain, so a return in the next couple of weeks is plausible, which would give Hurts back a reliable middle-of-the-field target before Smith returns.
For Sunday, inactive lists come out 90 minutes before kickoff. With Smith and Brown already ruled out, the decision tree is settled: Wicks and Lemon carry the receiver room, and the Eagles' ability to stay competitive with the Rams depends on how much the line can do with Donald on the sideline.