Eagles superstar QB Jalen Hurts will miss the rest of the season after multiple blood clots were discovered in his lungs. The NFLPA is calling for a full investigation into the medical care provided to Hurts after he was cleared to play Week 5 vs. Jacksonville after initial discovery of a blood clot in his leg and allowed to fly home from London – as flying with blood clots poses life-threatening risks. The NFL, for its part, has defended the Eagles medical process involving Hurts.
Hurts will be placed on blood thinners for 3-6 months and the prognosis is for a full recovery ahead of the 2027 season. The Eagles and fantasy football managers now turn to Tanner McKee at QB. This could mean targets are consolidated and heavy usage for DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, while ancillary pieces such as Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon (already off to a slow start to his career) will be hurt. Saquon Barkley may find less running room but more opportunities overall going forward may offset the added defensive attention. Rookie Cole Payton is now elevated to the backup QB and the Eagles signed Joe Milton III from the Cowboys practice squad to be the 3rd QB.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon is quickly ...
Makai Lemon, a rookie wide receiver for the Philadelphia ...
Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon ...
Tim McManus reported that WR DeVonta Smith has missed practice all week due to a hamstring injury and will likely sit out Week 4 against the Rams. Bo Wulf of PHLY Sports added that Smith could miss extended time, noting, “It could be a two or three week hamstring injury.”
This is a major blow for the Eagles offense, especially with starting TE Dallas Goedert still sidelined by an MCL sprain. QB Jalen Hurts will have to lean heavily on WR Dontayvion Wicks, 1st Round rookie Makai Lemon, and 2025 UDFA Darius Cooper to shoulder the receiving load. For fantasy football gamers, this situation significantly boosts the streaming outlook for both Wicks and Lemon while Smith is sidelined. ~Jason Diaz
It only goes up from here. On a day in which the Eagles gained only 10 first downs, and the top receiver on the team was TE Dallas Goedert (4 catches, 77 yards), rookie first round pick Makai Lemon was unable to make his mark in a way fantasy football players were looking for. The good news is, Lemon was on the field plenty, at one point throwing a crucial block that freed up teammate Jalen Hurts to scramble for a first down on a third and long play.
Given the amount of time Lemon missed this summer, a slow debut is not overly surprising, but signs are there his role could be expected to grow. Lemon tied fellow WR Dontayvion Wicks in targets from Jalen Hurts (4), and gets a nice bounceback spot against the Titans in week 2.
Eagles beat reporter Tim McManus of ESPN does not believe Makai Lemon will make a major impact out early in the season after missing minicamp and a good chunk of training camp with a hamstring injury. Lemon posted a 39.2% College Dominator Rating (85th percentile) en route to winning the Biletnikoff Award last year at USC before being drafted 20th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
At the NFL level, the Eagles traded for Dontayvion Wicks this offseason, and Wicks has been an Eagles training camp standout, especially while Lemon was missing missed time. Lemon is currently WR26 on PlayerProfiler’s dynasty rankings. Provided that the Eagles offense is better this year with new OC Sean Mannion, Lemon could still become the top complement to DeVonta Smith but is unlikely to hit the ground running in Week 1.
Darius Cooper is thriving with Philadelphia’s first-team offense in the absence of Devonta Smith and Makai Lemon. Head coach Nick Sirianni praised Cooper by saying, “he has had opportunities in training camp to win on third down, and he has done that. Let’s give him those opportunities [during regular season games].” The second-year receiver pairs an elite College Dominator Rating with reliable hands in contested-catch situations over the the middle, earning the trust of Eagles coaches, and most importantly, Jalen Hurts.
While Philadelphia’s depth chart remains crowded, the target heirarchy is wide open below established alpha Smith. Cooper’s catch rate in high-leverage routes positions him to siphon a meaningful regular-season route share from Marquise Brown and Dontayvion Wicks.
Is there an electical substation near the Eagles’ practice facility? Early-camp soft tissue injuries to alpha DeVonta Smith and rookie slot weapon Makai Lemon will delay first-year coordinator Sean Mannion’s offensive play installation in camp. Smith still projects to be Philadelphia’s primary target role after earning a 22.7-percent Target Share and a 30.2-percent Air Yards Share last season. Lemon brings upper-decile collegiate profile metrics—including a 39.2-percent College Dominator Rating—into a slot role where the coaching staff plans to scheme him touches.
Both players will remain in PlayerProfiler’s Top-50 seasonal player rankings until more details emerge about the severity of their respective hamstring strains. In the meantime, Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and even Darius Cooper will enjoy more run with the 1s in Eagles camp. In particular, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that the Eagles coaching staff are “really excited” about Wicks.
