Whenever he’s been given the opportunity this offseason, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has gushed over new punt and kick return specialist Avery Williams. Sirianni has even hinted at a role for Williams on offense as a change-of-pace gadget player.
We’re still a ways away from roster cut-down day, but the Eagles can only keep 53 players on their active roster, and they’re unlikely to carry more than five wide receivers into the season opener.
There’s little debate on Philly’s top four, as the team featured A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson and Johnny Wilson prominently during last year’s stretch run that ended with a Super Bowl title. The real question entering OTAs and training camp is: Who will make the initial active roster as the Eagles’ fifth wide receiver?
Josh Davis of the Philly Special Show predicts Williams to get the nod over Ainias Smith, a 2024 fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M who will enter camp firmly on the roster bubble this summer.
“Who knows what Avery Williams’ final position will end up being,” Davis said, “but there’s just no denying the excitement for Sirianni every time he brings this dude up. Granted, when we’re talking about guys left on the outside, that also means second-year wide receiver Ainias Smith is on the outside looking in. But I gotta be real. It just feels like Williams has more experience to do what Philly’s asked of Smith so far. Plus, I’d expect the Swiss Army Knife aspect of Williams’ game to only increase as the season goes along.”
Ainias Smith’s rookie season got off to an ominous start, as he opened 2024 on injured reserve with what can only be described as the Philly Flu. He eventually made his NFL debut in Week 8, but even with injuries to Brown, Smith and Britain Covey at various points of the season, he failed to carve out a significant role in Kellen Moore’s offense. He was not part of the wide receiver rotation in the postseason and was obviously outplayed by Dotson during Philly’s glorified preseason game in Week 18 against the Giants.
A former fifth-round pick himself, Williams has established himself as one of the NFL’s top return specialists, racking up over 1,800 total return yards in just three seasons. He wasn’t featured on offense much during his tenure with the Atlanta Falcons, but he did handle 22 rush attempts and caught 13 passes in a gadget role for the Falcons in 2022. Something similar could be coming for the veteran in Philly this year.
The Eagles kept Covey as a wide receiver on the 53-man roster last season, so it would make sense that his replacement makes the squad in Williams. It’s possible that Philly looks to stash Ainias Smith on the practice squad to start the season, but the expectation for now is that he’ll initially be released off the 90-man roster come cut-down day.
