Philadelphia Eagles: James Washington is a Senior Bowl player to watch

As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for the Super Bowl, their scouting department is at the Senior Bowl. Here’s why WR James Washington is a player to watch.

Though there isn’t a professional football game this weekend, there is a game that could have a significant impact on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ future.

And no, I don’t mean the Pro Bowl.

On Saturday, January 27th some of the nation’s best football players will descend upon the city of Mobile, Alabama to take part in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, a game that pits some of the nation’s best senior college football prospects against one another right in front of representatives from all 32 NFL teams.

While the Eagles will obviously be focusing the vast majority of their attention on their fast approaching bout against the New England Patriots for a chance to be named Super Bowl LII champions, the team simply can’t overlook the Senior Bowl if they want to continue to build championship caliber rosters for years to come.

With current stars like Brandon Graham, Lane Johnson, and Carson Wentz all cutting their teeth as Senior Bowl standouts, the Eagles could very well find their next great player this week in Alabama.

Here’s why Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington is a player watch at the 2018 Senior Bowl.

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Meet the Prospect

James Washington, a three-star recruit from Stamford, Texas only received two scholarship offers coming out of high school, but quickly established himself to be one of college football’s most dangerous deep threats.

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After playing sparingly as a true freshman, Washington quickly established a connection with quarterback Mason Rudolph and put together three straight 1000-plus yard seasons in Stillwater.

But unlike many other college speedsters, Washington was far from one dimensional.

While he only took four snaps special teams as a return man, Washington was used all over the Cowboys offense and was incredibly productive as Mike Gundy‘s swiss army knife.

Whether it be go routes, 50-50 balls in the corner of the end zone or the occasional end around jet sweep, Washington was a threat to take the ball to the house every time he touched the ball and even made an impact on the game when he didn’t have the ball.

Often playing with a safety shading his way, Washington consistently produced regardless of how opposing teams decided to cover him, and helped to open up the rest of the field for his fellow receivers to win their 1-on-1s.

The Cowboys had three other receivers who recorded at least 500 yards of offense for Gundy’s squad, including 1156 yards from number two receiver Marcell Ateman, and much of that production came as a result of Washington lining up wide right.

The Biletnikoff Award winner for the 2017 FBS season, Washington put together one of the best college football seasons of an Oklahoma State Cowboys’ receiver in program history, and will likely go down as one of the program’s favorite sons moving forward as he takes the next step in his career.

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Why he’s a fit with the Philadelphia Eagles

Though he grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, there may not be a player at the Senior Bowl who’s a better fit for Doug Pederson‘s hybrid west coach offense than James Washington.

A true deep threat in the vain of former Eagles great DeSean Jackson, Washington’s can take the ball to the house on virtually any play, as highlighted by his final three season in Stillwater, where the ex-Cowboy recorded an incredible 4016 receiving yards on 198 catches (20.28 ypc) while hauling in an impressive 33 receiving touchdowns.

Over the past offseason, the Eagles made a point of adding players with a high ypc percentage in the hopes of giving Wentz a true deep threat to stretch out the field and open up the inside crossing routes for players like Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz, but unfortunately for Howie Roseman and company, none of their acquisitions developed into a consistent part of the offense.

Between Torrey Smith, Shelton Gibson and Mack Hollins, the Eagles Y receivers only caught 54 of the 94 (57.5 percent) balls thrown their way for 667 yards and three touchdowns. For context, Agholor, Alshon Jeffery, and Zach Ertz each recorded more yards, catches, and touchdowns than all three of those receivers combined, and while playing a similar number of snaps.

That’s just unacceptable.

If the Eagles really want to be able to access 100 percent of Pederson’s playbook, the team needs to find a legitimate burner on the outside, and Washington could fill that role with beautifully.

In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Eagles explicitly looked for receivers who had averaged serious yards per catch for their careers but failed to target players who also had serious college production.

Though both Hollins and Gibson finished their college careers averaging over 20 yards per catch and were viewed as two of the best legitimate deep threats in the entire 2017 NFL Draft by many talents observes, neither player finished their college career with a single 1000-yard season.

Washington, on the other hand, had three consecutive 1000 yards seasons.

While he doesn’t have a particularly advanced route tree, which is common for many receivers coming from high powered spread offenses, Washington has the physical traits to eventually run inside routes due to his impressive build.

Unlike many featherweight burners who come out of college, Washington’s built like a running back with 205 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-1 frame and has proven that he can take a hit on a contested catch. And once he does bring in the pass, something he did 226 times in college, he turns into a punt returner in the open field, cutting like a knife through a defensive backfield on a mad dash to the end zone.

If Washington can run a sub 4.40 40 yard dash at the combine and perform well in the receiver drills, it’ll essentially cement his draft stock as a legitimate first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. So much so that he may not even be available when the Eagles pick with either the 31st or 32nd overall pick.

But if he is available, the Eagles shouldn’t hesitate to select the senior speedster.

While some talent evaluators will likely compare Washington to a player like Corey Coleman, a raw speedster who has yet to find his place as a legitimate starter with the Cleveland Browns, I firmly believe that the former Cowboy has the drive, determination and football IQ to develop an NFL caliber route tree and become a first-class deep threat in the NFL with Pro Bowl potential.

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Next: Philadelphia Eagles: DaeSean Hamilton is a Senior Bowl player to watch

In the 2014 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints leapfrogged the Eagles to steal Brandin Cooks out from under the Eagles, a move that eventually resulted in the selection of Marcus Smith 26th overall, but in the 2018 NFL Draft, Howie Roseman and company can finally get a Cooks-esque player on a five year rookie deal. While he may not be the most advanced receiver in the 2018 NFL Draft, James Washington has the pure speed and instincts to immediately contribute as a starting Y receiver and eventually become the second coming of DeSean Jackson in South Philly.

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