Among the many question marks surrounding the 2021 Philadelphia Eagles, wideout Travis Fulgham may be the most interesting. His near instantaneous rise to Eagles stardom during the 2020 season, followed by his subsequent fall to bench warmer by season’s end left a lot of Eagles fans scratching their heads.
Was Fulgham’s remarkable four-week run in which he caught 29 passes for 435 yards and 4 touchdowns just a flash in the pan? Or, is he a budding NFL wide receiver who just needs an opportunity to prove himself? At this point, it’s impossible to answer that question.
If Fulgham is primed to become a focal point of Nick Sirianni’s offense, he’ll certainly get his chance this fall. The Eagles top two wideouts heading into the season are DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor. After them, it’s a crapshoot.
Greg Ward is the most experienced wideout on the team, but he’s exclusively a slot guy. With reports indicating Reagor could see more time from that position this year, Ward could have trouble finding a role on this offense (if Reagor really pops from the slot). If Sirianni envisions Smith as the team’s Z receiver (lining up off the line of scrimmage), and Reagor as the slot man, Fulgham could fit in nicely as the X receiver in this offense.
He’s a big bodied receiver who showed potential as a X receiver last season. Fulgham’s physical enough to beat corners off the line in press situations, and he’s sneaky quick for a receiver of his stature. Not to mention he made contested catches time and time again in 2020, proving that even if he has a little trouble creating separation, it’s still worth throwing him the jump ball.
We’ve talked a lot about how the duo of first round picks, Smith and Reagor, will be looked at as the team’s primary pass catchers on the outside. There’s no doubt their success in 2021 will play a big part in the offense’s success as a whole. But Fulgham is the real x-factor of this group.
If he can play at a high level consistently and recapture what made him so great during that four-week stretch, the Eagles will have one of the most exciting young receiver corps in the NFL this season.
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