A.J. Brown doesn't participate in Philadelphia Eagles' walkthrough Wednesday
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown didn't participate in the team's walkthrough on Wednesday ahead of the Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Brown is still dealing with the hamstring injury that he suffered last Friday before Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, which ended in a devastating 22-21 loss.
Before the game, Brown had told ESPN that he could miss at least one more game. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the loss on Monday that he wasn't sure how much time his star wideout would miss.
With Brown out against the Falcons, Philadelphia's passing attack lacked explosive plays through the air.
"A.J. is a phenomenal player, so of course you lose some of the big play ability that he brings," Sirianni said. "But you try to move guys around, whether you're running a different play or whether you're running a different person in the play that A.J. would have run, those are all different things. But yeah, anytime you lose a player like A.J. Brown, it's going to affect you. But again, I thought the efficiency of the offense -- now, it wasn't as good as we needed to be in the red zone, but the guys that had to step up and make plays in the absence of A.J. did a good job."
DeVonta Smith stepped up in Brown's absence and recorded seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
Smith led the team with 10 targets, but fellow wideout Britain Covey ranked second on the team with six targets. Covey finished the game with six catches for 23 yards.
Tight end Dallas Goedert wasn't really involved in the team's passing attack Monday night and had three catches for 38 yards on four targets.
"Would we like Dallas to have the ball more? Absolutely, of course we would," Sirianni said. "But again, sometimes it's not that simple, either. Because the quarterback goes -- we can't tell the quarterback just throw it to this guy. He's got to read the defense. That's why playing quarterback is the hardest position in the NFL, or in sports, in my opinion. They have to read the defense to see where the hit is coming or where the pressure is coming, where the coverage is, all those different things, and deliver the ball where it's supposed to go."
Wide receiver Jahan Dotson, who the Eagles acquired with draft capital in a trade with the Washington Commanders in August, was a non-factor. He had one catch for 6 yards, which came in the first quarter, on one target.
Rookie wideout Johnny Wilson, who was questionable last week, played against the Falcons. But like Brown, he also didn't participate in Wednesday's walkthrough with a hamstring injury.
Outside of Smith, the Eagles will likely need more production from guys like Goedert and Dotson in Week 3 against the Saints with Brown possibly missing more games.
Through two weeks, the Saints rank first in the league in points per game (45.5) and third in total offense (405.5).
