DeVonta Smith speaks out on A.J. Brown drama: ‘Just 2 guys that ultimately want to get the same goal’

DeVonta Smith knows what A.J. Brown brings to the table for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The star duo has teamed up over the past four seasons since Brown’s arrival in 2022 to great success. The Eagles have been to the Super Bowl twice in the past three seasons, finally finishing the job with a win in Super Bowl LIX over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brown had been the team’s leading receiver over the past three seasons, clinching All-Pro selections during that time frame along with a couple of Pro Bowl bids.

However, this season has been a different story. Brown has struggled to produce at the level that he’s accustomed to, averaging a career-low 50.8 receiving yards per game. By comparison, Brown has averaged 80.1 yards per game during his Eagles tenure.

Through the first 10 games of this season, Smith has been the team’s leading receiver with 49 catches for 665 yards. By comparison, Brown is at 38 catches for 457 yards.

Brown has made it no secret through social media that he’d like to be more involved in the offense. Smith said he hasn’t really given advice to Brown, saying that he’s allowing his teammate to handle it “himself.”

“I kind of let him handle himself,” Smith told Ahn Fire Digital of his relationship with Brown. “Everybody handles things differently. We’re all grown men. I let him handle it the way he handled it. We talk during the game and try to keep each other in positive minds during the game.”

Brown has become a little more involved in the passing game as of late, with Jalen Hurts targeting Brown a team-high 11 targets during their 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions. By comparison, Smith had five targets in the game.

Although the numbers don’t reflect it — Brown had seven catches for just 49 yards — it does show an effort to get him involved in the passing attack. Brown also had his best game of the season just a few weeks prior in a 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings, posting six catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith said that he and Brown get along well with the two having the same objective of wanting to “win.” The pair have obviously proven that over their time together as teammates, with the Eagles posting a record of 47-14 since 2022, the best record in the NFL during that stretch.

“Just two guys that ultimately want to get the same goal — we want to win it all,” said Smith. “We want to be productive. We want to help this team win.”

The two receivers obviously have vastly different skill sets and physical frames, with Smith at roughly 170 pounds and relying more on his speed and Brown at 227 pounds. Their stark contrast in size and skill sets have proven to be productive against opposing defenses over the years.

Smith said that Brown’s best trait is he’s a “physical guy.”

“He’s just a physical guy,” said Smith when asked what Brown’s best trait is.

While the Eagles haven’t won games in pretty fashion this season, the bottom line is they’re still 8-2 and have the top record in the NFC. That’s also not even mentioning how they’ve defeated multiple playoff teams from last season, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Lions.

In fact, the only playoff team they’ve lost to are the Denver Broncos, a game in which they blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

That hasn’t stopped the criticism from coming in, with Hurts facing heat based upon a recent report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini that the Eagles are frustrated with the quarterback’s hesitancy to throw the ball into tight coverage. However, Hurts has still produced 16 touchdowns against one interception this year, with the lowest interception rate in the NFL entering Week 12.

We’ll see how the Eagles handle the outside noise entering their Week 12 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, but they’ve proven over time to be unfazed by the criticism.