1 Eagles player in danger of losing starting job after OTAs

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1 Eagles player in danger of losing starting job after OTAs

Matty Breisch, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, May 28, 2026 ·

6 min read

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With the month of May rapidly winding down, that can only mean one thing for Philadelphia Eagles fans: AJ Brown's days in midnight green are numbered .

That's right, while Brown has technically been a member of the Eagles for the first two months of the NFL calendar year, you wouldn't know it by the way both sides have been operating, with his teammates routinely talking about the Pro Bowl wide receiver in the past tense while discussing his very successful run in the City of Brotherly Love.

Now granted, while saying goodbye to Brown will be hard when the day eventually comes, even if he's made it a lot easier by all but forcing his way out of town, it's not like Howie Roseman hasn't seen it coming. He signed a number of wide receivers in free agency, headlined by Hollywood Brown , traded for Dontayvion Wicks from the Green Bay Packers , and even traded up for Makai Lemon, the star USC wide receiver who is already taking first-team reps with the Birds during OTAs.

The Eagles are widely expected to land a 2028 first-round pick for Brown's services in the trade, and when everything is said and done, Howie Roseman might just be able to secure some additional assets out of the deal, too, be that another pick or a player from the Patriots at a position of need like safety.

And yet, while the Brown saga has capitalized Eagles headlines, mock drafts, and darn-near every other piece of Eagles media since he informally asked for a move to New England to reunite with his old Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, that doesn't mean there aren't other Philadelphia wide receivers who deserve some extra attention heading into the summer. If anything, there's one true dark horse who is not only a Super Bowl Champion but also a former starter who has a chance to steal a starting spot from expected WR3, Wicks, heading into the 2026 NFL season: Johnny Wilson .

Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Eagles' WR3 spot might be far more wide open than expected

When news broke that Wicks was coming to Philadelphia, fans tentatively slotted him in at WR2 behind DeVonta Smith . At the time, the Eagles hadn't yet added another wide receiver in the draft, even if most expected them to make a move one way or another, and with Brown on the way out, he looked like the ideal kind of player who could play a similar role as an X capable of getting separation against press.

With Lemon added to the Eagles roster, Wicks' grip on the WR2 spot loosened significantly, but in general, he was still widely viewed as one of Philly's top-3 pass catchers, even if Eli Stowers could challenge for that title relatively quickly as a passing game tight end. But with Wicks opting against participating in Wednesday's OTAs, Nick Sirianni and company called on Wilson to s erve as their third starting wide receiver with Smith and Lemon, a role he hasn't filled since 2024 in the Super Bowl.

Drafted in the sixth round out of Florida in 2024, Wilson started five of the 20 games he appeared in as a rookie, but just when it looked like he could take a step forward in 2025, disaster struck when he suffered an ugly leg injury that cost him the entire season. While some openly questioned what Wilson would look like back on the field after undergoing knee and ankle surgery, getting the nod over a player like Darius Cooper , who was targeted 11 times in 2025, is notable.

Now granted, OTAs are OTAs, and considering teams aren't hitting or running complex offensive concepts, which player lines up where doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Rookie third-round pick Markel Bell started at right tackle on Wednesday, and if he plays at all in 2026, it means something really bad happened to the depth in front of him. But Wilson returning to his old starting spot after a season away means that the Eagles still believe in him, which, considering they have a new offensive coordinator, wasn't a guarantee. Give him a shot to compete with Wicks, and who knows? Maybe Wilson will win out over the vet just like he did at times with Jahan Campbell and Parris Campbell in 2024.

Johnny Wilson remains a very intriguing offensive weapon

On paper, Johnny Wilson's rookie season wasn't exactly a campaign to write home about. Starting five of the 20 games he appeared in, split between the regular season and playoffs, Wilson was only targeted 16 times, catching five balls for 38 yards and a touchdown over 369 offensive snaps .

But where Wilson shined was actually in the run game, where he played the role of a pseudo tight end on the outside, helping to open up holes during Saquon Barkley 's record-breaking season. Standing 6-foot-6, 228 pounds with a 4.52 40 time and long arms, Wilson is actually taller than his rookie teammate Stowers, even if he entered the NFL with far less polish on his receiving game. As a result, Kellen Moore routinely called Wilson's number on obvious running downs, where he could set up blocks for anyone from running backs like Barkley to wide receivers on screen passes, where he instantly became a weapon in the open field.

Now granted, while having wide receivers who can block is important for a team that really likes to run the ball, especially for an offensive coordinator who comes from the wide zone-friendly branches of the Sean McVay coaching tree, Wilson does still have plenty of experience catching the ball, having amassed 1,514 yards over his two seasons at Florida State. Considering Mannion's old team, the Packers, had a few very tall wide receivers like Christian Watson and Malik Heath , and he threw to tall receivers like Justin Jefferson , Olabisi Johnson , and Kenny Britt during his time with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings , Wilson should be a favorite in his gameplanning, especially when paired up with Stowers.

Is Wilson guaranteed to play a big role in 2026? In a word, no. Wilson getting the first team snaps could have simply been a matter of seniority, and when Wicks is back, he returns to a depth role. But considering the Eagles' Big 3 at wide receiver was more or less set heading into the summer, Wilson could fill a dark horse role as he looks to build on a rookie season a year in the making.

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