Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office delivered on the widely-held perception that they would draft a wide receiver, and they didn’t have to move up to secure their guy with the board breaking their way and Jalen Reagor available for the taking.
The CeeDee Lamb-tease and subsequent heartbreak at the hands of Jerry Jones was pretty brutal, but at the end of the day this was a best case scenario.
Reagor was my WR5 in this class and I was close to putting him fourth ahead of Jefferson. He’s a burner and a jitterbug, and the 4.22 & 4.28 40-yard dash he ran at his pro-day is proof of that.
He’s as fast as anyone in this class and isn’t just a straight-line speed guy either—he’s uber-twitchy and bends like a human joystick. He has electric quickness, great leaping ability, and a knack for high-pointing and winning balls downfield. He may not have the listing of a physical receiver (5’11” 195 lbs.) but he plays tall and knows how to use his hands to free himself up.
He’s a nice combination of technically-sound and athletically-gifted; he posted the 2nd best vertical and broad-jump scores at the combine, and while his 3-cone and shuttle times were a little underwhelming, anyone who watches his film knows he’s incredibly shifty.
The Eagles have desperately tried to surround Wentz with YAC receivers like Golden Tate, and vertical threats like Desean Jackson and Torrey Smith—Reagor is an impressive blend of both of those skillsets. He’ll demand respect over the top and is capable making defenders whiff in the open-field.
If he can fill out his frame a little bit and hone an already solid release he’ll be an immediate problem for opposing defenses.
In my opinion, Reagor and Justin Jefferson were the only wideouts outside of the clear top-three who were worth taking at 21, and out of the two Reagor is the lower-floor/higher-ceiling player, but he’s a player I’ve been betting on for a while.