Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz could make Allen Robinson a star

Allen Robinson and the Philadelphia Eagles need each other.

Allen Robinson is a really, really good wide receiver.

He’s big, long, and hyper-athletic with a ridiculous catching radius. On a good team, Robinson’s propensity for freaky circus catches could be the difference between an early playoff exit and a trip to the biggest game in professional sports. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been Robinson’s reality at the NFL-level.

No, the reason Allen Robinson has become so gosh darn good at catching any ball remotely thrown his way is because he’s been forced to work with quite possibly the worst collection of quarterbacks in NFL history.

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I mean seriously, we’re talking Blake Bortles, Chad Henne, Mitchell Trubisky, and our old pal, the ever financially secure Chase Daniel. That quartet has a combined win-loss record of 67-105 with only Trubisky having a winning record.

Fun Fact: Did you know Chad Henne, a Wyomissing native, is still in the NFL? Yeah, with the Kansas City Cheifs. Good for him.

Still, despite his circumstances, Robinson has found a way to persevere like a rose through concrete, amassing 355 catches for 4,749 and 33 touchdowns over his six-year NFL career. He’s passed the century mark twice, made it to the Pro Bowl once, and despite having a less than stellar catch percentage of 56 – but really, can you blame him? – Robinson has led his team in receiving yards in four of his six pro campaigns – failing to do so in only his rookie year and a 2017 season limited to only one game.

But what, you may ask, does this have to do with the Philadelphia Eagles? Well, nothing. But also sort of everything.

You see, despite entering the final year of a three-year, $42 million contract signed back in 2018, the Chicago Bears have reportedly not even approached Robinson about a possible extension despite nearly doubling the team’s next closest receiver, the equally underrated Anthony Miller, and the addition of Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles at quarterback. While this may be due to the team’s uncertain immediate future, as they could very easily collapse into a 2-14 team if a few things don’t break their way or the fact that Robinson may require a pretty sizeable raise to return to his current situation, how on earth does any GM worth their salt not at the very least reach out to his agent?

Robinson is only 26 for crying out loud, it’s not like he’s 31 and his career is winding down.

So, assuming the Bears completely fall apart and either allow Robinson to test the open market or even offer him up to the highest bidder at the trade deadline, one would assume the Eagles would surely give him a look Golden Tate-style, right? Um yeah, that would be an understatement.

With Alshon Jeffery‘s tenure in Philly all but over once the season comes to an end – assuming the two parties don’t have some over the top coming together – the Eagles could rapidly find themselves in dire need of a big-bodied possession receiver who can reliably come down with the 50-50 ball and even more reliably catch the ball in the endzone. Could JJ Arcega-Whiteside be that guy? I still have some faith in the ex-Stanford Cardinal but even if he does find some second-year success, that doesn’t mean the Eagles couldn’t seriously benefit from a second towering presence at the ‘X’ wide receiver spot.

You know, that ‘two towers’ look worked out pretty well for Jay Cutler and the Bears back in the Alshon Jeffery-Brandon Marshall days.

If given a chance to haul in passes from an ascending young quarterback with a command of his offense and a cannon for an arm, I for one firmly believe Robinson could finally find himself the perennial Pro Bowler he deserves to be, maybe even poking All-Pro honors depending on the year. Even if the Eagles do decide to go spread-heavy with their half a dozen-plus one wide receivers this fall doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be willing to run the show through a proven star – a star who just so happens to be a year younger than Wentz.

Could you even imagine a new-look receiving corps highlighted by Robinson with Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, John Hightower, and even JJAW in the mix? That crew has an average age of 23.4 and could continue to grow together for years to come.

And really, is there a wide receiver who deserves a great quarterback more than Allen Robinson? I mean even in college he had to catch passes from Matt McGloin and Christian Hackenberg for crying out loud; give the man a chance.

Next. Philadelphia Eagles officially agree to terms with rookie WR Jalen Reagor. dark

For better or worse, the Philadelphia Eagles are eventually going to have to revamp their wide receiving corps. Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Marquise Goodwin will all be 30-plus when the season ends and even if they stick around in 2021, their collective days in the NFL are numbered. While it would be fantastic for in-house replacements like JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor, and Quez Watkins to step up and become the next generation of midnight green pass catchers, if 2015 is of any indication, betting on unproven draft picks is a fool’s errand. If Allen Robinson becomes available at any point in the next year-plus, Howie Roseman should run, not walk to the phone and give Carson Wentz the true number one receiver he so desperately needs.

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