Philadelphia Eagles: Greg Ward’s importance just skyrocketed

Greg Ward’s value to the Philadelphia Eagles just doubled following Marquise Goodwin’s opt-out.

As Jimmy Kempiski of the Philly Voice pointed out this morning, the Philadelphia Eagles current wide receiver room (excluding DeSean Jackson, who completed just one game last year) has a combined total of 52 career catches for just 631 yards. With Marquise Goodwin choosing to opt out of the 2020 season, and Alshon Jeffery set to start the year on PUP (physically unable to participate), the team’s depth at the receiver position is once again looking quite thin.

The Eagles of course did select three lightning quick receivers in this year’s draft, and are obviously expecting quite a bit out of first-round selection Jalen Reagor. However, one of the biggest reasons Goodwin was brought in was to act as “DJax insurance”, just in case the veteran deep threat went down to injury yet again.

Goodwin has experience playing on both the outside and the slot, and while he hasn’t been too productive in recent years, he was undoubtedly a solid backup to have heading into the new season.

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With Goodwin out of the picture completely, a whole ton of pressure is now being put on last year’s practice squad hero: Greg Ward Jr.

Of those before mentioned 52 catches and 631 yards, Ward has over 50% of the catches and over 40% of the yards. Despite appearing in just seven games last year (and only starting in three), Ward finished the year as Carson Wentz’ number one option down the stretch.

Prior to Goodwin announcing his opt out, there were questions regarding if Ward would even be making the final roster. DeSean is expected to come back as the team’s WR1, JJ Arecega-Whiteside is just a year removed from being a high draft pick, and the team selected three rookie WRs like previously mentioned. With Goodwin expected to be that primary backup deep threat, it looked like Ward would be fighting for a job once again.

However, all that speculation is now essentially finished. In fact, I would go as far as pretty much guaranteeing Ward makes the 2020 roster. With such minimal veteran depth at the WR position, it would be completely irresponsible to cut a guy who earned Wentz’s trust last year.

Ward almost exclusively operated out of the slot in 2019, proving to be extremely effective in the short passing game. He only averaged 6.4 yards per target, but recorded a catch rate of 70% and didn’t drop a single pass all season long.

On top of that, Wentz recorded a passer rating of 95.2 when throwing to Ward. An astonishingly high number considering Ward’s practice squad status heading into the season.

The Eagles don’t currently have a traditional “slot receiver” on their roster, as it looks like they really want to emphasize the deep passing game heading into the new season. With Jackson and Reagor running streaks to stretch the field out, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert will primarily take up the middle of the field.

However, should Jackson or anyone else get injured in 2020, Ward is the perfect replacement. He’s proven he can play out of the slot at a high level, and was a crucial piece to the Eagles offense during their late season playoff push. In the final four weeks of the season alone Ward put up 21 catches, 209 yards, and one game-winning touchdown. While I personally like guys like Quez Watkins and John Hightower, expecting them to come in and contribute after such a wonky offseason might be a tad too much to ask of them.

Goodwin’s departure from the team hurts from a depth perspective, but it does completely open up a spot for Ward to come in and excel. Whether it’s operating as the team’s fourth receiver, or even as a starter in the slot, expect Ward to be a valuable piece to the Eagles passing game in 2020.