Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Reagor gives Carson Wentz a legit playmaker

Jalen Reagor can become a long-term playmaker for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles surprised some when they selected Jalen Reagor in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft over the more polished product in Justin Jefferson. But the organization’s dire need for a long-term playmaker played a pivotal role in Reagor’s selection, as he fits the description perfectly.

The four-star recruit burst onto the scene quickly for Texas Christian University. Reagor won Big 12 Co-Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2017 after posting 17.5 yards per reception to go along with eight touchdowns and 576 receiving yards off of 33 catches while only starting two games.

Reagor backed up his freshman year’s success after becoming a full-time starter for the Horned Frogs. The electrifying receiver put the college football world on notice as a playmaker after hauling in 72 receptions on 131 targets for 1,061 yards (14.7 yards per reception) and nine touchdowns, while only dropping four passes. Reagor finished his sophomore season as a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2018.

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However, in 2019, Reagor’s production took a dip. The receiver only caught 43 of his 88 targets for 611 yards, 14.2 yards per reception, and five touchdowns while dropping seven passes. The Horned Frogs quarterback play took a step back from the year before Shawn Robinson transferred, and the team rolled with true-freshman Max Duggan.

Ultimately, Reagor’s 2019 statistics wrongfully hindered the national perception of his talent. Many saw the seven dropped passes and high drop rate this last season and immediately concluded that Reagor had terrible hands instead of acknowledging his four drops on 131 targets the season prior. Coming off a season with only 611 receiving yards, Reagor’s issues can easily be explained with the added context that only 30.7 percent of his targets were accurate last season.

Since 2018, only 61 percent of Reagor’s targets were catchable, which was the third-lowest rating in college football.

What the Eagles have lacked consistently game-in and game-out since employing Torrey Smith for their Super Bowl championship season is speed. Reagor was clocked at 22.6 miles per hour, which would’ve been the second fasted play in the NFL last season behind running back Matt Breida’s 22.3 miles per hour.

Carson Wentz has quietly developed into one of the better deep ball passers in the league but hasn’t had the talent to match the skill. Wentz ranked ninth in the NFL in deep passing accuracy in 2019 (51.92 completion percentage). Four of Reagor’s five touchdowns last year came on 20-plus yard receptions, while the receiver hauled in eight of those targets for 294 yards. A perfect pairing of a receiver and quarterback it appears.

Reagor also possesses an ability Wentz has lacked from his receivers as of late. The receiver was dominant in contested catch situations posting a 42.1 catch rate in 2019.

Wentz loves targeting his tight end, Zach Ertz, based on the consistent separation he gets on his routes. In Week 1 of the 2019 season, the quarterback aired it to DeSean Jackson for two 50 yard touchdown passes because of the separation he amassed. Wentz has proven to be a quarterback that prefers to throw it into windows when receivers create separation. Reagor saw 25 targets while having a step or more of separation 20 plus yards downfield since 2018, which was tied for third in college football.

Yes, the Eagles decided to take the more boom or bust prospect in Reagor over the safe pick in Jefferson, but their quarterback may have been the exact reason. Reagor fits everything Wentz needs in a long-term playmaker wide receiver. The separation, speed, and contested-catch ability, all packaged into one.

The Philadelphia Eagles needed an infusion of playmaking ability to their receiver room and in Jalen Reagor, they found precisely that.