Philadelphia Eagles: Will Fuller just screams Howie Roseman trade target

Are the Philadelphia Eagles going to make a splashy move for a speedy wideout?

What is Jalen Reagor‘s ideal role with the Philadelphia Eagles moving forward?

Is he the heir apparent to DeSean Jackson as a speedy burner on the outside, or does he possess the shake-‘n-bake-ability to take over games as a YAC specialist Deebo Samuel-style?

Now I know what you’re (probably) thinking, “In Week 8, literally any role would be an ideal enough remedy to the Eagles’ current offensive doldrums”, which honestly, is fair. The team is averaging less than 144 passing yards per game to receivers not named Travis Fulgham since his emergence in Week 4, a number that will surely go down now that both Jackson and Zach Ertz are on IR.

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With eyes turned to the long-term, objectively speaking, it’s not as easy as one would assume.

Measuring in at 5-foot-11, 206 pounds, Reagor ‘only’ ran a 4.47 at the 2020 NFL Draft Combine but put up elite explosiveness numbers in the jumping drills – ranking in the 98th percentile in the broad jump and the 97th percentile in the vertical jump. While he most certainly can fly down the field ‘Torrey Smith-style‘ for a massive, 55-yard game-changing catch, maybe he’d be better utilized as an interior option where his strength, size, and halfback-build can break a few tackles and generate positive yards at all three levels of the field?

The NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein comped Regaor to Curtis Samuel coming out of college, who, fittingly enough, is having his most statistically efficient season as a pro as a slot-mostly receiver.

So, assuming the Eagles view Reagor as a much higher ceiling version of Nelson Agholor coming out of the slot, how would they tackle their ‘Z’ spot moving forward? Would they hope Jackson can return for 2021? How about Marquise Goodwin, who opted out of the 2020 season? John Hightower has recorded 50-plus yard games in each of his last two games; could he go from fifth-round pick to ‘the guy’ in a little under a year?

… I guess the team could always… look outside the confines of the NovaCare Center for a not-too-old veteran with a proven track record of success in the NFL. But does such a player exist, let alone is being actively shopped on the open market?

Buckle up; this is about to get good.

As you may or may not know, Howie Roseman is a huge fan of making splashy trades for name-brand players this time of year; it’s sort of his thing.

Since returning to power in 2016, Roseman has made three of these such moves with varying levels of success, from the good (2017’s trade for Jay Ajayi) to the bad (2018’s trade for Golden Tate), and the still to be determined (2019’s trade for Genard Avery). If the Eagles can find a quality piece who they think could turn the tides in a woefully up for grabs NFC East, they’ll probably kick the can on it a bit further than any 2-4-1 team has any right to.

Fortunately, there’s another not-very-many-wins team that has made their shop effectively open for business, with only four of their current contracts off-limits: The Houston Texans.

According to multiple sources compiled here by NFL Update, the Texans are actively taking calls for any player on their roster not named Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, Laremy Tunsil, and Tytus Howard. While it doesn’t sound like the team is going full-on ‘going out of business sale’ where a starting-caliber player can be had for pennies on the dollar, if the right deal were to come around, pretty much any other player can be had just in time for that vital midseason push for the playoffs.

Why is this relevant to the Philadelphia Eagles? Well, Because Will Fuller just so happens to be on the roster and ready to help some playoff-bound team add a home run-hitting threat to their offensive attack.

On paper, Fuller checks every box Roseman – and fans of the Eagles – look for in a wide receiver. He’s a local product who was born in Philly and played his high school ball at Roman Catholic. He’s also a deep threat burner who ran a blazing fast 4.32 40 at the 2016 NFL Draft Combine and actually translates that speed onto the field. He even averaged a 20.3 yards-per-catch during his final season at Notre Dame, a number Roseman specifically covets when evaluating deep threat receivers coming out of college.

There’s a case to be made that had the Eagles not been all-in on trading up for Carson Wentz in 2016, Fuller may have been the pick at 13, as he fits the mold for what the team looks for in an outside receiver – he’s just that good.

Since entering the league, Fuller has averaged 14.6 yards per catch on an average of 3.8 receptions a game. He’d recorded nine-games with at least one catch of 40 yards or longer, 15 games with at least one touchdown, and 11 games with 100 plus yards – including three in 2020 alone. Is Fuller a do-it-all offensive weapon a la his former teammate DeAndre Hopkins? No, Fuller isn’t what anyone would call a ‘complete receiver’ capable of burning would-be defenders from every route on the tree, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being a one-trick pony isn’t all that bad when your one trick is the oldest in the book.

Now bear in mind, a trade for Fuller will not be cheap either financially or draft cap-wise. The Texans would automatically get a third-round comp pick for Fuller in 2022 and thus would probably want a second-round pick to take him off their hand midway through his $10.16 million fifth-year option season. Factor in a new contract that could fall anywhere from $8-12 million, maybe even more, and factoring Fuller into the team’s future becomes a rather tricky ordeal.

Then again, there’s very little reason to believe Fuller wouldn’t give the Eagles an incredible edge paired up with Reagor and Fulgham for the back half of the 2020 season and could become a focal point for an otherwise incredibly cheap receiving corps for the foreseeable future, so why not trade a pick, even a premium one, in a year where the draft process will be even more volatile than in 2020?

That, my friends, is the question Roseman has to weigh and weigh fast because there is reportedly heavy competition for Fuller’s services.

Next. 5 teams that could potentially trade for Will Parks. dark

Whether you believe the Philadelphia Eagles are a player away from being the unquestioned favorites to win the NFC East, fool’s gold who would be statistically eliminated in any other division, or a team that should be selling off anyone and everyone (like Will Parks) to turn their attention to the future, you have to admit that Howie Roseman has a type. He likes flash, he wants his team to make big plays, and most importantly, he wants to look like the smartest guy in the room. If the team can somehow secure a receiver like Will Fuller for a future pick, maybe even offboarding Alshon Jeffery in the process, it feels like the kind of move he would do, even if it’s not necessarily the ‘right’ move for their current situation. After all, Roseman did pick Jalen Reagor 21st overall when (almost) everyone thought they would go with Justin Jefferson or Patrick Queen.

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