Legal Sports Betting

DeVonta Smith is the Best Eagle to Bet on Thursday

By Joe Tansey

Published: Sep 2nd, 2025 · 4:37 PM EDT

---

I can make a strong argument that, from a value perspective, DeVonta Smith is the best Eagle to bet on a weekly basis. Smith’s receiving yards and touchdown prop numbers will always be dwarfed by A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley, and Jalen Hurts, but he consistently overperforms those props throughout the season.

So let me present to you the case to make Smith your guy to bet in the Thursday night season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Here are his numbers in his last six Dallas games:

• 5 targets, 5 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD
• 12 targets, 8 catches, 113 yards, 2 TD
• 10 targets, 5 catches, 73 yards
• 3 targets, 3 catches, 51 yards, TD
• 7 targets, 6 catches, 120 yards, 2 TD
• 3 targets, 2 catches, 14 yards

That’s 29 receptions on 40 targets, almost 75%. Two of his three multi-touchdown regular-season games have come against the Cowboys, including Week 17 of last season. Brown was on the field for both of those games, so they aren’t fluke performances with an increased role.

Smith’s props at ESPNBet are set Over/Under 55.5 receiving yards, Over/Under 4.5 receptions, and +185 to score a touchdown.

It’s not a great sample size, but Smith has a touchdown and over 70 receiving yards in two of his four NFL season openers. He also averages 17.75 yards per reception on Thursdays. That’s just four Thursday games, but it’s not insignificant.

But this stat is VERY significant:

Smith has 12 touchdown catches against the NFC East. He has 13 against the seven other divisions. Again, the number seems high for a reason, but also notable that almost half of his touchdowns have come in divisional play.

Six of those 12 touchdowns within the NFC East have come against the Dallas Cowboys. He doesn’t have more than three scores against any other opponent.

So yeah, I don’t know what you’ll be wagering at PA sports betting apps and New Jersey sports betting apps, but I’ll have my money on DeVonta against the ‘Boys.