DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon both sidelined with hamstrings

Philadelphia's receiver room is banged up before camp even really gets going. DeVonta Smith and rookie Makai Lemon were both absent from practice, and the culprit for both is the same: hamstrings.

For Smith, this is a new development, but the timing stings given the context around him. With AJ Brown traded away to the Patriots this offseason, Smith is now penciled in as Jalen Hurts' clear WR1, so every missed rep during camp carries more weight than it would have a year ago.

Lemon's situation is the more concerning of the two. This isn't his first hamstring scare of the offseason — he battled a similar injury back during OTAs that also forced him out of mandatory minicamp. Now it's popped up again heading into camp, and multiple flare-ups with the same muscle group in a matter of months is the kind of pattern that gets trainers nervous, even if the team isn't calling it long-term.

That reaction sums up the fantasy-world mood pretty well. Rookie receivers already have a steep enough learning curve without missing practice time, and every day Lemon sits is a day he's not building chemistry with Hurts or learning the offense at full speed.

The Eagles have publicly downplayed both injuries as not serious, and soft-tissue issues are something teams routinely manage conservatively in the heat of camp rather than risk a bigger tear. Still, until Smith and Lemon are both back running full routes, Philadelphia's receiving corps is going to be a storyline worth checking on daily.