Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Reagor has Day 1 starter potential

While most players have better college production, TCU’s Jalen Reagor’s upside may be too good for the Philadelphia Eagles to pass up in the first round.

If fans of the Philadelphia Eagles had their way, there is one player and one player alone who should be in consideration for the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft: Jalen Reagor.

I mean, why not, right? He pretty much checks every proverbial box on the hypothetical checklist.

Measuring in at 5-foot-11, 206 pounds with 31.375-inch arms and 9.5-inch hands, Reagor is a speedy deep threat with supreme burst, above-average hands, and enough wiggle to make massive plays in the open field on a screen pass. While his 4.47 40 yard dash was relatively disappointing when compared to his record-setting expectations, Reagor more than made up for it at TCU‘s pro day with a blazing fast 4.22 – a 40 that would have tied John Ross III for the fastest time in combine history.

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Granted, I’d take any hand-timed 40 from a pro day with a grain of salt, but what are you going to do?

In 2018, Reagor amassed 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns on only 72 catches and proved to be one of the most unguardable players in college football. Despite his size, Reagor made contested catches in seemingly every game and provided Gary Patterson‘s offense with a go-to target on whenever his offense needed a boost despite having to rely on three different quarterbacks to run the Horned Frogs’ offense.

Had Reagor taken another step forward, he very well may have cemented his status as a certified first-round pick, and potentially do-it-all playmaker in the vein of 2013 draftee Brandin Cooks, but unfortunately, that just wasn’t meant to be.

Paired up with freshman quarterback Max Duggan, Reagor only caught 43 of his 92 targets for 611 yards and five touchdowns.

Ugh, that’s rough.

If stats were all that matter – specifically, stats without context – it’s worth wondering if Reagor is even worthy of a Day 3 pick after his less than ideal combine performance, but fortunately, that’s not the case. No, when you look back at the 2019 season, and what Reagor was asked to do, it’s honestly pretty impressive he was able to produce at all.

You see, of the 92 passes thrown his way, only 55 were catchable balls. Hauling in 43 of those 55 catchable balls is much more impressive, even if his seven drops produce a minor red flag. Making things no less difficult was Duggan himself, who only averaged 6.1 yards per attempt, and wasn’t particularly accurate on downfield balls.

Reagor may have been able to make the most of this situation had the Horned Frogs found creative ways to scheme him open, but for some reason, the team opted against it. No, instead, TCU opted to play their best offensive player almost exclusively at the X receiver spot where he could be schemed out of offensive game plans, and limited to only so many viable routes.

In 2018, Reagor was a threat to take the ball to the house any time he touched the ball, but in 2019, he was a player opposing teams could take away. So needless to say, despite having a down year that would all but certainly hurt his draft stock, Reagor got the heck out of dodge and submitted his name for consideration in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Honestly, can you blame him?

Why struggle through another college season for free when you can make the big bucks playing for a playoff team as a late first-round pick? Better still, why not do so while learning from one of the best deep threats in NFL history, DeSean Jackson?

Barring the team double-dipping at wide receiver in the draft, making a surprise trade, or signing some second-tier free agent to bolster their corps going into 2020, Reagor could start from Day 1 in the slot as the Eagles’ number four receiving option behind Zach Ertz, DeSean Jackson, and Alshon Jeffery. Throw him a screen pass out of the slot with players like Dallas Goedert and JJ Arcega-Whiteside blocking, and the Eagles could have instant offense the likes of which was unavailable for much of the 2019 season.

But wait, there’s more.

In addition to the slot, Reagor could also spell Jackson on the outside and provide the team with a second deep threat option who just so happens to have no problem going across the middle for a contested-catch. Reagor weighs roughly 30 pounds more than Jackson and should be able to hold up better to the increased physicality of the short and intermediate passing game.

Absolute worst-case scenario, Reagor takes a gap year to learn the ropes of an NFL offense as a rookie and takes over return duties from Miles Sanders and Boston Scott in 2020 – the very same role that earned Jackson his first of two Pro Bowl appearance oh so many years ago.

Could you potentially get similar production out of KJ Hamler in Round 2? Maybe, maybe not, but he was almost exclusively used as a slot receiver over his tenure at Penn State, weighs 20 pounds less than Reagor, and has never shown an ability to fight for extra yardage after contact.

There’s no doubt about it, if a team needs speed outside of the first 20 or so picks, Reagor is the best option, and some even believe he could give the draft’s premier vertical threat, Henry Ruggs III, a run for his money for the title of best deep threat in the entire class.

On the Monday edition of The 2 for 1 Drafts podcast, PFF’s draft Lead Draft Analyst Mike Renner mentioned Reagor as one of his favorite players in this year’s class, and may even rank the TCU speedster over Riggs despite their noticeably different combine-timed 40-yard dashes. Renner believes that Reagor plays through contact better than Ruggs, can stack cornerbacks on the outside better than Ruggs, and projects as a purer Z wide receiver at the NFL-level.

Ruggs’s 4,27 speed will all but surely get him drafted within the top-15, but Reagor may end up being the better pro due to his size, playing style, and athletic abilities.

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The 2020 NFL Draft has been heralded the best receiver class since, well, maybe ever. Per Baltimore Ravens‘ GM Eric DeCosta, teams should be able to find starters on Day 3 if they keep an eye out. However, if a player like Jalen Reagor is on the board when the Philadelphia Eagles go on the clock at pick 21, hoping to find a value brand version of TCU’s deep threat later in the draft is easier said than done. Reagor is a uniquely built, do-it-all receiver who should be able to produce from the jump and develop into a bigger role down the line. What more could you want?

UPDATE:

Jalen Reagor is an Eagle. Life is good.

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