Today's Philadelphia Eagles question:
@Tim_McManus where would you set the over/under on Torrey Smith's Catches/Yards this year?
— 7/4/76 (@twitrunner8) May 26, 2017
Let's go with 47 catches, 820 yards, six touchdowns.
I tend to think Torrey Smith will look more like the receiver he was in Baltimore, where he averaged 53 catches, 898 yards and close to eight touchdowns, as opposed to the one we saw in San Francisco the past two seasons (average of 27 catches, 465 yards and 3.5 TDs). He joined the 49ers just as they fell into their descent. They cycled through two one-and-done head coaches in 2015 and 2016 (Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly), rotated between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert at quarterback, and went a combined 7-25.
In Philly, Smith should be aided by stability at quarterback, a solid offensive line and a quality number of receiving options around him that includes Alshon Jeffery, Jordan Matthews and tight end Zach Ertz.
Smith is entering his seventh NFL season, but he is quick to point out that he's only 28, and he believes most of the 4.36-second 40-time speed he had coming out Maryland remains intact.
One uncertainty that always looms large for free-agent acquisitions is how quickly they will acclimate to their new surroundings, if they acclimate at all. Quarterback Carson Wentz is likely to have two new starting receivers in Jeffery and Smith. It will take time for everyone on offense to get on the same page.
When Smith was asked how long it took him to get in rhythm with QB Joe Flacco after being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, the receiver noted that he came into the league during the 2011 lockout and joked that he didn't know where to line up for all of training camp, yet still managed to have a five-catch, 152-yard, three-touchdown performance in his first start that September. Smith doesn't expect much of a learning curve with the new veteran receivers and Wentz.
There's always a chance that Smith will be unable to recapture his Baltimore form, or that one of the other receivers will take a good portion of his reps. But as it stands now, Smith is well-positioned to get a number of downfield targets from the big-armed Wentz and should cash in.