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Eagles newcomers ’26: How will wideout Dontayvion Wicks fit into Sean Mannion’s offense?

Plus, former Bucs pass rusher Jose Ramirez seeks to make an impression off the edge.

Dontayvion Wicks has a leg up given his familiarity with the new Eagles scheme.
Dontayvion Wicks has a leg up given his familiarity with the new Eagles scheme. Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

With Eagles training camp drawing nearer, The Inquirer is taking a closer look at the more than three dozen new faces who are expected to report along with the rest of the team on July 28.

Player: Dontayvion Wicks

Position: Wide receiver

Age: 25

Previous experience: The Eagles acquired Wicks this offseason from the Green Bay Packers, the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2023 out of Virginia. Wicks also signed a one-year, $10.5 million extension, keeping him under contract through 2027.

He overlapped for two seasons in Green Bay with Sean Mannion, the new Eagles offensive coordinator who served as a Packers offensive assistant in 2024 and the quarterbacks coach in 2025. But Wicks’ best season was his rookie year in 2023, when he racked up a career-high 581 yards and four touchdowns on 39 receptions.

Every year since has paled in comparison. He finished with 415 yards and five touchdowns on 39 receptions in 2024, and 332 yards and two touchdowns on 30 receptions in 2025. Wicks was, in part, a victim of the Packers’ deep receiving corps, as he never played more than 54% of the offensive snaps in a single season.

He also struggled with drops in 2024, registering the third-highest drop rate at 11.8% among wide receivers with at least 70 regular-season targets, according to Stathead.

Still, the 6-foot-1, 206-pound Wicks has had his standout moments, including his two-touchdown performance in the Packers’ Thanksgiving victory over the Detroit Lions last season. His drop rate improved in 2025, too, finishing with a career-low 4.3%.

Path to a roster spot: Wicks currently projects (depending whom you ask) as the third receiver behind DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon, although Hollywood Brown could contend with him for more targets. Wicks will have an opportunity to show that he’s capable of taking on more responsibility in the offense, especially one that traded away its top playmaker in A.J. Brown this offseason.

The Eagles are high on Wicks. Nick Sirianni likened his skill set to that of Keenan Allen, especially in terms of their shared ability to get in and out of breaks and their efficiency at the line of scrimmage. Wicks also has the versatility to line up in the slot (39.3% of his career pass snaps, according to Pro Football Focus) and on the outside (58.9%).

Fun fact: Wicks was a quarterback at Plaquemine High School in Louisiana, and a left-handed one, too. His arm came in clutch during his rookie season when he completed a 14-yard pass to running back Aaron Jones on a trick play against the Denver Broncos.

Quotable: “He’s a unique player in terms of some of the things that he’s able to do from a route-running perspective. He’s headed into Year 4, you’ve seen the growth, and I think you’re excited, because you still see that there are parts of his game that he’s still refining, like every single player. I think he brings toughness. Obviously you can see from watching the tape, he’s a talented guy. One thing I think with Tay is his mindset, he thinks the game in the proper way.” — tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey, the former Packers receivers coach, on Wicks in June

Player: Jose Ramirez

Position: Outside linebacker

Age: 27

Previous experience: Ramirez was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2023 sixth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan. He didn’t make the initial 53-man roster out of training camp that summer and subsequently was signed to the Bucs’ practice squad.

In 2024, shortly after his three-sack performance in the second week of the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ramirez made the active roster out of camp. He appeared in four games that season (30 defensive snaps, 40 special teams snaps). The 6-2, 252-pound outside linebacker was waived at the end of training camp in 2025.

Ramirez continued his pro career in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last season. In three games, he registered one sack and four tackles. Ramirez was released in the offseason to sign a reserve/future contract with the Eagles in January.

Path to a roster spot: Ramirez has a shot at the practice squad, but it’s a long one. He will have to compete against veteran A.J. Epenesa and sixth-rounder Keyshawn James-Newby for one of the last spots on the active roster behind Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith, and Arnold Ebiketie. If the 27-year-old Epenesa is the early favorite to make the initial 53, James-Newby and Joshua Weru (International Player Pathway program; would not count toward 16-man limit) are the top candidates for the practice squad.

Fun fact: In four years at Eastern Michigan, Ramirez notched 20½ sacks, the second-greatest career total in school history. He had 12 sacks in 2022, making him the fourth player at Eastern Michigan since 1998 to notch double-digit sacks in a single season. That season, he was named the Mid-American Conference’s defensive player of the year.

Quotable: “I feel like my best attributes are my stab and my speed, just using my get-off to scare the O-lineman. But I feel like there’s a lot of things I need to work on. Even the things I’m good at, I feel like [there’s] still room to get to perfection. I feel like you can practice over and over and over, and there’s no such thing as getting to the end of it. There’s always time to get better.” — Ramirez in 2023 after the draft, via the Buccaneers

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Eagles’ newcomers ’26

Whether a 2026 draft choice, a veteran addition, or a rookie free-agent hopeful, we’re telling you more about each player’s potential role this season. We’re rolling out two players per day in a mostly unscientific order that balances offense and defense, bigger names with mysteries, and locks with longer shots to be chosen for the 53-man roster.

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