The Eagles have one of the best 1-2 punches at wide receiver in the NFL with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, and they’ve made it a point of emphasis to get them the ball early and often this season. While both receivers have had their games through the first five weeks of 2023, A.J. Brown has taken stronger command of the target share this season than what we saw last year in Philly.
Through five weeks in 2022, the gap in target share between Brown and Smith sat at just 2.6%, with Brown registering a 25.2% target share vs. Smith’s 22.6%. By the end of the 2022 season, that margin shrank to just 0.6% (Brown finished with a 25.4% target share to Smith’s 24.8%). That allowed Smith to finish as the WR14 in points per game, while Brown finished as the WR8.
Things have shaken out quite differently in 2023, though: through five weeks this season, the margin in target share between Smith and Brown is sitting at a cool 10.8% – more than four times as large a gap as the one that existed between the two receivers last year. Just like last year, A.J. Brown is the current WR8 in fantasy points per game… while Devonta Smith sits much lower in the hierarchy, checking in as just the WR34 on the season.