One position you can almost guarantee the Philadelphia Eagles will continue to tinker with through the start of the regular season, at least, will be wide receiver.
It only makes sense after trading away their best player at the position — maybe the best player on the entire roster – when they sent NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2028 1st round pick.
The Eagles made a minor move to keep adding competition at the position on Tuesday by bringing in wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, a 2022 4th-round pick (No. 125 overall) by the Miami Dolphins, who brought his career back to life this season with the UFL’s D.C. Defenders.
“The Eagles have signed UFL WR, Erik Ezukanma,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “A former 4th round pick of the Dolphins.”
Ezukanma, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, only played 5 regular-season games in 3 seasons with the Dolphins and spent 2025 on the practice squad with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Eagles Criticized for Signing Erik Ezukanma
Not everyone was a fan of signing Ezukanma, who has more career NFL rushing yards (22) than receiving yards (3) and scored his only NFL touchdown running the ball.
“Bro the Eagles are out here scraping the UFL bargain bin like it’s a charity drive,” Eagles fan The Imam wrote on their official X account. “A former mid-round draft bust who couldn’t stick with Miami is now their big addition. This is peak rebuilding desperation — signing practice squad level talent from a lesser league while pretending it’s a roster upgrade. Another name that will likely vanish by cut day.”
That’s not totally fair — to Ezukanma or the Eagles. With the Defenders, he showed his versatility and put up 762 all-purpose yards in 10 games with 15 receptions for 227 yards, 76 rushing yards, and 459 kick return yards.
Ezukanma was a 2-time All-Big-12 pick at Texas Tech in 2020 and 2021, where he had over 700 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns each of his last 2 seasons, including a career-high 843 yards of total offense in 2021.
“Productive three-year starter with desired combination of size and foot quickness,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Ezukanma has enough speed to get down the field and challenge coverage while displaying an innate sense for protecting and finishing contested catches underneath. The route tree has been limited by scheme, but he’s not as polished with the routes he runs as he should be for his experience level. Size, ball skills and toughness work in his favor as a quality backup with some upside.”
Eagles Used 1st Round Pick on Wide Receiver
Things could get sorted out at wide receiver for the Eagles sooner than later if veteran DeVonta Smith can slide into the WR1 spot and 2026 1st round pick Makai Lemon can take over Smith’s role as Robin to Brown’s Batman the last 4 seasons.
The Eagles traded up 3 spots to draft Lemon at No. 20 overall.
“The Eagles move up and make a major addition at receiver in advance of A.J. Brown’s expected departure,” ESPN’s Tim McManus wrote on April 26. “The 2025 Biletnikoff Award Winner as the nation’s top receiver, Lemon posted 150-plus receiving yards in four games this past season — the most by a USC player since Drake London in 2021. He emerged as one of the nation’s top slot targets, posting 1,281 yards out of the slot since 2024.”
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