“Worst first round pick ever.”
“Cut him already!”
“I can’t believe we took him over Jefferson.”
We’ve all heard these sayings thrown around when discussing Eagles’ second-year wideout Jalen Reagor. Reagor was selected in a 2020 draft class that was intended to be a “finishing touch” to an Eagles roster primed for playoff competition. As we know, that wasn’t the case, at least not in 2020. Even in the complete failure of a season that succeeded his draft class, Reagor stood out as one of the major disappointments of the entire year. The hopes of finally having a true deep threat and explosive vertical wideout for the Eagles’ offense in 2020 didn’t come to fruition, at least not with Reagor: he posted a lowly 396 yards receiving in 11 games.
This is disappointing, but not an absolute disaster for the average rookie; the real contention came from the receiver drafted one pick after Reagor, Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson. In his first season, Jefferson shattered the record for receiving as a rookie, posting an insane 1400 yard statline. This was a bad look for an Eagles team with arguably the worst receiving corps in the league. Reagor’s production would draw the ire of Eagles fans by itself, but when they had to see a player who was in the birds’ grasp catapult himself into elite wide receiver status, patience wore thin even faster. That’s not to say Reagor was placed in a position conducive to success, however.
The Eagles offense as a whole in 2020 was dreadfully bad, and quarterback Carson Wentz rated among the worst in the entire NFL. For this reason, many still held out hope for a much improved 2021 campaign. The 2021 off-season would be one of major change in the Eagles organization, but also one for Jalen Reagor himself. With a new Quarterback and Head Coach duo leading the birds, questions flew about what we would see when it came to Reagor’s usage. Many were extremely optimistic, as the addition of a head coach with an extensive background in cultivating young wideouts meant there was a chance Reagor’s full abilities could finally be unlocked. The same could be said when the Eagles added Heisman winner Devonta Smith in the draft to play alongside Jalen, as it meant less attention would be on him and he’d have an easier time matching up against another team’s second or third best defensive back.
Many also believed Reagor’s usage could be much more creative than what we saw in 2020—drafted as a speedster, Reagor hardly saw any plays to feed him the ball and let him work in open space. While the expectations for the Eagles team weren’t high, fans certainly expected to see massive improvement from young players in order to have any faith in a potential rebuild, and Jalen Reagor was at the top of that list.
During his time at TCU, Reagor made headlines for his otherworldly speed and punt return ability. Even during a stretch where TCU ran a 3 quarterback carousel, Jalen put up extremely solid stats, breaking 1000 yards over the course of 14 games in 2018. Not many wideouts have the pure athleticism that Jalen possesses. Reportedly running in the low 4.2’s in his pro day, he was certainly one of the fastest players in the draft. While Jalen had an underwhelming combine due to a lingering injury, he still showed off elite explosiveness, with otherworldly jumping ability.
Some thought Jalen would be best as a gadget player/punt returner, and questioned his route running ability. And it’s fair to say most didn’t see him in the top tier of wideouts in the 2020 draft, but plenty were intrigued enough by his athletic profile to mock him in the late first or second round. The Eagles’ selection of Reagor was criticized by many, both because of who he was selected before and the criticism of him as a player. The criticisms obviously ended up being correct, but even then nobody could have predicted the way Justin Jefferson would dominate the league.
The start of the 2021 season was a tough one for Reagor. It was reported he struggled with his weight and conditioning in training camp, which drew the immediate attention of an already displeased Eagles fanbase. However, we would later learn that these issues came in the wake of the killing of Reagor’s best friend and that Jalen was struggling with the loss heavily. Cases like this demonstrate the importance of remembering athletes are humans, and you can never truly understand what someone is going through. Even after this news, however, Eagles fans still used this as evidence Jalen was “lazy” or “unmotivated,” essentially vindicating themselves in their hatred of him as a person. He was also heavily criticized for his “antics” on social media—frequent cryptic messages on his Instagram and Twitter left fans feeling toyed with, even though it was obvious Reagor was struggling mentally with the pressure of expectations and constant negative discourse around his play.
Even through this, Reagor would create some positive buzz for himself in training camp and preseason, reportedly making impressive strides with his route running and a couple of widely publicized highlight-reel catches in joint practices. Fans who were itching to see progress from Jalen had their expectations raised through these reports, and anything aside from a massive breakout for the sophomore seemed like it would be a complete disappointment. Unfortunately for Jalen, his 2021 season would somehow end up worse than 2020.
In Week 1, things looked extremely promising for Jalen. He had six receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown, and it seemed he was finally getting the called touches he deserved. However, this would arguably be the peak of his entire season; throughout the following weeks, the Eagles struggled, and so did Reagor. He went absolutely silent through the middle of the season, posting around one or two receptions a game despite being second on the team in targets. It certainly wasn’t all his fault, as QB play was inconsistent at the time, and there was evidence Reagor would get open without targets on occasion. However, it was clear Jalen wasn’t living up to his first-round selection at all and was even being outperformed by another speedy wideout the Eagles drafted in 2020, 4th rounder Quez Watkins.
Reagor also seemed to be a liability on special teams, rarely if ever breaking any punts or kickoffs for significant yardage. As his play stagnated, his snaps on special teams and on offense started to drop. By now, the Eagles fanbase had completely turned on Reagor—harassment on social media, constant insults, and even on-field booing became a constant for Reagor. He certainly didn’t help himself with his play, but it’s impossible for us to say that Reagor wasn’t working hard and trying. Reagor didn’t choose to be selected 21st overall, but at this moment, it seems that the story of his career will always be “the guy drafted before Justin Jefferson.” (Who was again putting up an elite season).
The hatred seemed to boil over in a 7-13 loss to the Giants, where Reagor dropped two game-winning passes in a devastating defeat. These circumstances cause an eruption of straight-up hatred of Reagor on social media; fans relentlessly mocked, insulted, and harassed him. Criticizing someone’s play is a completely fine thing to do, but when it comes to a kid trying to make his NFL dreams come true, insults and harassment are not acceptable behavior. In the end, Reagor’s 2021 regular season left fans even angrier than before, and they called for heads to roll. However, there is certainly a case to be made that we should give Reagor some more time to prove himself, and we don’t need to look far to see a few cases in which teams would regret giving up on struggling wideouts.
Case 1: Roddy White
First, we take a minor trip back in time to 2005 and revisit the career of Falcons Legend Roddy White. Coming out of college, White was an athletic freak – the combination of speed and explosiveness he possessed got him selected in the first round at pick 27. However, his first two seasons would be quite lackluster. His play was spotty in his first year, where he played in 16 games (but starting just 8) and recorded under 500 yards. It was a similar story in year 2, where he saw some marginal improvement, but still struggled with drops and a general inability to attract targets to himself in the Falcons offense. In his third year, things clicked; White would break 1000 yards receiving, kickstarting a career in which he’d compile 4 pro bowl honors and 10,000 career yards. It’s also interesting to note that White ENTERED the league at 24 years old – a year older than Reagor is in his 2nd season.
Case 2: Mike Williams
Mike Williams is a much less extreme case compared to the others in many aspects, but as a 7th overall pick, it’s an important lesson on not rushing highly-touted prospects. Through his first 3 seasons after being drafted in 2017, Williams was widely considered a massive disappointment. Even though he posted a 1000 yard season in his second year, it never seemed like Williams could find a consistent groove in the charger’s offense. Williams’ main criticism was his failure to separate – while he had a 6’4 frame and great athleticism, he struggled mightily when it came to running conventional routes. However, This all changed in 2021. Williams added some great new wrinkles to his release and refined his technicality on routes – but most importantly, he was truly unlocked by the Chargers offense. The coaching staff finally played Williams in a position to maximize his strengths – which allowed him to become one of the premier deep threats in the NFL. For a guy labeled as a massive disappointment his first 3 years, that’s pretty damn good.
Case 3: Davante Adams
Perhaps the most well-known and compelling case of receiver development comes from the best wideout in the entire NFL, Davante Adams. Many people forget that there was a time in which Packers fans were calling for the future superstar to be released from the team completely, and labeling him a major bust. Davante had a lackluster first two years in the NFL, posting under 500 yards in both seasons; even earning himself the nickname “Dropvante ” among the Packers fan base. Obviously, we all know how this story ends – Davante worked on his route running ability and perfected his technical craft, ascending to become one of the most dominant receivers in recent memory. The thing is, Davante wasn’t even a hyper-special athlete – he has great explosiveness (like Reagor) but in straight line speed, he is hardly an elite threat. It just goes to show how important technicality can be when developing as a wide receiver – and how well it can be developed.
There are plenty more cases of wideouts with slow starts emerging as quality options – I just found it pertinent to show two cases in which they developed into much more. I understand it can be frustrating to think of “what could have been” when it comes to that 21st overall pick. However, when it comes to an athletic, young wideout like Reagor, it’s important to keep in mind that there’s massive room for development. The only thing worse than passing on Justin Jefferson would be cutting the guy we passed on him before he unlocks his true potential. It’s also important to remember that these NFL players are humans – and for guys like Jalen, they’re working hard every day to make their NFL dreams come true. Harassing and making fun of him does nothing but make you look like a terrible human and a fool. Criticizing the pick itself or Reagor’s play is OK, but the best we can do for Reagor himself is cheer him on and hope he develops into the type of player we envisioned when we drafted him.
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
The Eagles defense needs to rush/blitz put their hands up or block Tom Brady’s vision from throwing down the field,
it will leave some indecision and leave chance for interception or turnovers.
The Eagles will have to develop a lead early against the Bucs and use their Special Teams to help keep
their offense on the field to control the clock. If they do that with a combination run /pass attack, they can win.
Oh lord.