Philadelphia Eagles: How does Marquise Goodwin affect Alshon Jeffery?

After drafting three receivers and trading for another in Olympic speedster Marquise Goodwin, how does Alshon Jeffery fit in the Philadelphia Eagles’ plans moving forward?

As other teams, fans, and members of the media frantically try to keep track of all of Howie Roseman‘s Day 3 wheelings and dealings – it’s exhausting – the Philadelphia Eagles decided to make a rare pick for player swap in the middle of the fifth round, trading down 20 spots in the sixth round with the San Francisco 49ers for speedy wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

Good news for Eagles fans, bad news for writers like yours truly attempting to cover each move in an interesting way.

Now on paper, this deal makes a ton of sense, as the Eagles basically gave up nothing for Goodwin’s services – and contract – but it got me thinking: What does all of this mean for Alshon Jeffery?

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I know technically adding three sub-6-foot speedsters in Goodwin, Quez Watkins, and Jalen Reagor, and another taller hight-weight-speed guy in John Hightower shouldn’t have much of an impact on Jeffery, but the writing has been on the wall for quite some time that the Super Bowl 53 champion was not long for the City of Brotherly Love.

You don’t just draft a player with the exact same set of skills as a starter in the second round if you are comfortable with what you have….. Poor Carson Wentz.

As things presently stand, the Eagles have eight wide receivers on their roster in Jeffery, Godwin, Reagor, Hightower, Martin, Greg Ward, DeSean Jackson, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside.

Now I know Roseman can get a bit wacky with his roster composition to keep the best 53 players with the team – as he kept five running backs in 2017 and only two tight ends for much of 2019 – but that’s just too many receivers to keep on the roster, right? Clearly someone has to go, and with Jeffery already a subject of trade rumors in the lead up to the draft, he would be the most logical cut going into the 2020 season.

Some have suggested that Jeffery isn’t particularly happy with how things are going in Philly, and while these rumors have been refuted by the player’s camp, I can totally see their validity. Philly fans can be brutal and Jeffery, in particular, has received his fair share of criticism over the last few seasons – not quite Nelson Agholor-level slander, but not too far off either.

Guaranteeing Jeffery’s contract made sense in 2019 because no one knew what JJAW would do at the pro level – and to be fair, we still don’t know – but it’s clear the team has committed fully to speed down the field over rangy big-bodied receivers who can’t separate.

In the NFL, separation is key.

So yeah, the Eagles should just waive Jeffery now and move on with their lives, right? Not so fast, my friend.

Did you watch the Eagles last season? Doug Pederson is a clever play-caller who can make magic out of nothing, but his offense runs a whole lot smoother with professional wide receivers lined up at the X, Y, and Z receiver spots. There’s a reason Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert led the Eagles in receiving yards in 2019, they catch the ball when it’s thrown to them.

Of the four receivers added to the Eagles’ roster over draft weekend, none are particularly well-known for their sure hands. For all the knocks against Jeffery, he at least catches balls thrown his way at a 57 percent clip. Outside of his signature drop against the New Orleans Saints, Jeffery was generally considered a solid catcher of the football.

Realistically, the Eagles’ decision to add Goodwin has very lilttle to do with Jeffery’s future, but with his present.

After suffering a Lisfranc injury last season, it seems more and more likely that Jeffery won’t be on the Eagles’ roster come Week 1, instead starting out the season in IR with a designation to return. That would free up a roster spot for the Birds to keep at least seven of their eight wide receivers going into the 2020 regular season, with the hopes that one, two, or even three of them develop into long-term starters to pair with Wentz for years to come.

Jeffery is only three years older than Wentz, but he has a ton of wear and tear on his tires from eight long seasons of NFL football.

Next. John Hightower is a Day 3 Denzel Mims. dark

Worst case scenario, Marquise Goodwin is a solid insurance policy for DeSean Jackson’s health and Jalen Reagor’s development in 2020 at an average of about $6 million a year. He can conceivably exist alongside Alshon Jeffery in the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense in 2020 if they are both healthy at the same time, but at this point, having one more option is never a bad thing.

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