Eagles In Major Trouble At WR Without DeVonta Smith: What's The Plan Without Him?

The Philadelphia Eagles are already struggling on offense. They didn't need a major injury to their best pass catcher.

That's exactly what the Eagles are going through right now. DeVonta Smith hasn't practiced all week with a hamstring injury and there is concern he isn't going to play on Sunday against the Rams.

The Eagles aren't expected to have their WR1, and Hollywood Brown has also been sidelined with an ankle injury. That's two of the top four receivers not expected to play.

So what will the Eagles do going forward?

They're going to be thin at wide receiver come Sunday, which isn't ideal considering the state of the tight end position. How will the Eagles look at wide receiver and tight end?

WR1 -- Dontayvion Wicks

Wicks will take over as the WR1 if Smith is out, a role the Eagles didn't acquire him for. This is the issue with trading a player like A.J. Brown, as the Eagles were top heavy at wide receiver with two 1,000-yard wideouts at the top two spots.

Wicks has never been a WR1 in his career, but will get the opportunity to showcase his talents at a suddenly thin wide receiver position. Wicks has nine catches for 179 yards -- a 19.9 yards per catch average -- through three games. He'll be the focal point of the Rams secondary with Smith out, so we'll see how he fares in the biggest test of his career.

WR2 -- Makai Lemon

Lemon also gets an expanded role with Smith out. Perhaps Lemon isn't ready to be the WR2, but the snap count share through three games shows that second wide receiver spot will be Lemon.

Though three games, Lemon has seven catches for 38 yards -- 5.4 yards per catch. Lemon is averaging 4.1 yards per touch, but he did have three catches for 29 yards in Monday's loss. The Eagles are going to have to get Lemon open in the middle of the field in order for him to be effective.

This is a week for Lemon to step up. He'll get a fair share of targets.

WR3 -- Darius Cooper

Cooper is the third-best wide receiver on this team, yet only had five offensive snaps in Week 3. That will change this week (and was unacceptable in Week 3).

The Eagles will rotate Cooper on the outside and in the slot, and Cooper will play more regardless with his presence as the best blocking wide reciever. If the Eagles are going to commit to the run and run "11 personnel," they're going to need Cooper.

WR4 -- Elijah Moore

Moore actually played more snaps than Cooper in Week 3, playing six snaps to Cooper's five. He should have a larger role this week too, since the Eagles are running "11 personnel" over 70% of the snaps.

Will more taregts come for Moore this week? He didn't have one in Week 3, but the Eagles need a veteran pass catcher to help Wicks out. In comes Moore.

TE1 -- Zach Ertz

The Eagles are going to need Ertz to step up this week. He played 19 snaps in Week 3 and had one catch for nine yards. For someone coming off a major knee injury at 35 years old, that's fine.

Thanks to injuries and the Eagles lack of depth at tight end, they need Ertz to produce. Ertz should have a higher snap count this week and become a bigger weapon in the pass game.

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