Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is one of the longest-tenured chief decision-makers in the NFL. He has a knack for uncovering hidden gems in the NFL Draft, routinely finding overlooked talent for the Eagles roster.
This year, we saw the Eagles land two first-round talents in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean with their first two picks. But what about the later selections?
Aside from drafting the son of Jeremiah Trotter Sr. in the fifth round, the Eagles also added a massive receiver named Johnny Wilson in the sixth round.
At 6-foot-6, Wilson probably evokes memories of Harold Carmichael for the most loyal Eagles fans, but the newest Philadelphia receiver has a long way to go before becoming the next great late-round pick in the City of Brotherly Love.
Amazingly, like Carmichael, who was selected in the seventh round, Wilson had to sit and watch over 170 players drafted ahead of him. But that doesn’t mean he’ll have the same fate Carmichael enjoyed during his Hall of Fame career.
Steve Smith Jr. has incredible one-liner about Johnny Wilson
While Wilson is an enticing prospect, now-retired NFL great turned football analyst Steve Smith Jr. doesn’t think highly of the former Florida State star.
“This is where some people are gonna get a little butthurt, Johnny Wilson, Florida State, 6-foot-7, and 237 pounds. He is not a good multi-tasker. That boy can’t chew gum and tie his shoe at the same time. It’s struggling. When you look at the size, we hear this word, we heard it by a lot of people, ‘He’s a freak.’ Maybe at night, but it ain’t on the football field.”
Steve Smith Sr. on Philadelphia Eagles’ Johnny Wilson
Steve Smith Sr gives his honest opinion on #Eagles 6th round pick Johnny Wilson and it’s not good 🥲 pic.twitter.com/45hW7LzGZa
— Laz🇱🇷🦅 (@Philly_Laz) May 3, 2024
As a former NFL receiver himself, Smith loves to analyze current and future pass-catchers, so he wasn’t just picking on Wilson for no reason. This is his honest assessment of the Eagles’ newest receiver, but we do admit, it’s a pretty colorful opinion.
This is far from the first time Smith has thrown shade at a fellow receiver, but he’s simply calling it as he sees it, and he doesn’t see much potential in Wilson. But that doesn’t mean the Eagles feel differently. As a late-round pick, there’s a reason Wilson was still available in the sixth round, but Philadelphia knows not even their player development can teach size, meaning Wilson already has something no other player on the roster has: a 6-foot-6 frame as a wide receiver.
Now they just need to teach him the finer points of the game, which, according to Smith, includes helping him become a more efficient multi-tasker. We’ll see if he’s up to the challenge.
Related: 2024 NFL Draft: 10 biggest winners, including Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings