Should the Philadelphia Eagles trade for Bengals WR John Ross?

John Ross is on the trade block, and the Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers are bad.

We’re less than three weeks away from the NFL trade deadline, and players are already starting to be made available. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, former first-round pick John Ross has reportedly asked the Bengals for a trade. As it goes with the Philly media, the Philadelphia Eagles were immediately pinned as a potential landing spot.

Despite being one of the fastest players in league history, Ross hasn’t panned out as an NFL receiver in the slightest (up unto this point in his career). He’s logged just 733 total receiving yards across four seasons, and his career high for receptions in a season is 28. His career catch rate sits at 41.5%, as he recorded 7 drops in 2018 and 8 drops in 2019.

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The Bengals have completely pivoted away from Ross at this point in time, as they look to build a new passing offense around their recent #1 overall pick; Joe Burrow. The team snagged former Clemson WR Tee Higgins at the top of the second-round, and Tyler Boyd is very much their go-to target operating out of the slot. With AJ Green still getting starting snaps (for now), Ross has been cast aside as a bench player.

Ross has logged just 86 total snaps and 7 targets here in 2020, prompting his request of a change of scenery.

Even with the emergence of Travis Fulgham (future Hall of Famer/Randy Moss clone), the Philadelphia Eagles have still been experiencing some major woes at the wide receiver position. Veterans DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery can’t stay healthy, rookie John Hightower has already dropped 2-3 touchdowns, and first-round pick Jalen Reagor is battling his second major injury of the season. The struggles show in the box score, as Wentz has seen his productiveness as a pure passer dip considerably compared to earlier in his career.

Considering these struggles, it’s no surprise that the Eagles are being mentioned as a potential Ross suitor. However, given the state of the team and what type of player Ross is, this is about the most redundant fit possible. Ross is lightning fast, but he’s struggled with drop issues his entire career. If the team is hell-bent on adding someone at the WR position this deadline, Ross would do very little in terms of actually aiding the passing attack.

Ross has also battled injuries quite a bit during his time in the NFL. I guess that actually makes him good fit with the Eagles in all honesty.

For what it’s worth, DJax will likely be active this Thursday against the Giants and Jeffery could return after the bye week. In terms of midseason WR acquisitions, these are the two “moves” that Howie Roseman and the Eagles have to hang their hat on. While it’s unlikely they’ll make any sort of noticeable impact, it’s better than trading away assets for a struggling deep threat with drop issues.

Hightower and Ross are actually fairly similar players as it is. Both can use their speed to effectively create separation downfield, and both have shown struggles when it comes to actually catching the football. Considering the fact that Hightower is under contract for another three years  after 2020, and Ross would require some sort of trade, simply rolling with Hightower makes way more sense on paper.

On top of all that, Reagor will likely return after the bye as well, which should in theory solve the Eagles deep passing game issues.