Philadelphia Eagles: Put 2020 behind you, Jalen Reagor

One Philadelphia Eagles rookie needs to leave his struggles in 2020.

When the Philadelphia Eagles shocked the world by selecting Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, I was over the moon.

Sure, the conditions of his selection weren’t quite what I predicted, as it felt borderline impossible that CeeDee Lamb would still be on the board when the Dallas Cowboys went on the clock at 18 and that Justin Jefferson would also be available, but to paraphrase myself, it really didn’t matter. Reagor was my guy, and I would have taken him at 21 no matter what a la Sunny Weaver Jr. in my favorite bad movie, Draft Day.

It was great. This wasn’t Deebo Samuel in 2019, Will Hernandez in 2018, or Haason Reddick in 2017, where the player I wanted most of all was either off the board or selected by another team later. This time, for seemingly the first time in my career covering the Philadelphia Eagles, something broke my way, and I was on top of the world. I even bought a jersey to celebrate the occasion, which I chronicled here with the boundless enthusiasm of someone who didn’t know a four-win team was in my future.

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So what happens when you get everything you wanted, only for it to not be quite what you hoped for? What happens when your guy has the B-word thrown around after an underwhelming, injury-limited rookie campaign and starts getting compared to Tavon Austin?

I can tell you first hand that it’s not a great feeling – but my feelings surely aren’t a fraction of what Reagor has lived through.

When Reagor heard his name called at the back end of the first round in April’s NFL Draft, I imagine it was one of the happiest moments of this life. After suffering through the incredibly lackluster quarterback production of rookie TCU signal-caller Max Duggan, the Big 12 receiver was headed to the Eagles, the franchise his father spent a season with, to catch passes from one of the liveliest wire arms in the NFL.

Could Reagor learn under the watchful eye of an aging DeSean Jackson and become the team’s next great deep threat? Or would he take over for Nelson Agholor in the slot and prove to be one of the better space players in the NFL right out the gate?

Expectations were sky-high for the 21-year-old rookie, and he almost immediately made good on them with a 50 yd touchdown reception in the Eagles’ opening day bout. Sure, the Eagles were gonna lose that game to Washington, but Reagor was one of only four rookie receivers with 50 or more yards in their debut, with many assuming he was a lock to break the team’s drought of 500 yard receivers.

Fun fact: In a weird twist of faith, the Eagles would ultimately break that streak, as Travis Fulgham has 524 yards with one game left to play in the season, but that’s neither here nor there.

But in Week 2, disaster struck. In an unfortunate break similar to Jackson’s Week 2 injury versus Atlanta in 2019, Reagor suffered a torn UCL in his right thumb that kept him out of play until he eventually returned in Week 8 versus Dallas. To be fair, no one will fault the rookie for suffering said injury, but while he was gone, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson went on an absolute tear, recording 1267 receiving yards through the first 16 weeks of the season in addition to a Pro Bowl nod.

Now granted, I wholeheartedly believe that Jefferson wouldn’t have nearly as prolific a stat line in Philadelphia, as there is absolutely no way Doug Pederson would target him an average of 7.5 times a game, but fans in Philly still took the comparison 1-for-1 and started trashing Reagor on social media, leaving the Waxahachie, Texas native to deactivate his account for much of the middle of the season.

Since then, Reagor has shown signs of life, recording a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown and a caught a 39 yarder against New Orleans, but it hasn’t been enough. Reagor is in the Philly fan doghouse a la Agholor during his first two (and fifth) seasons in the NFL.

*sigh* Such is the short-term mindset of being a sports fan, I guess, especially in a year where we lost out on all organized activities for the better part of five months.

So Jalen Reagor, if you’re reading this, keep your chin up, buddy. You’re still the guy Howie Roseman handpicked at 21 overall when ‘higher ranked’ players were still on the board, and with four years left on your rookie contract counting the fifth-year option, there are still plenty of chances for you to become the Brandin Cooks-type deep threat many projected during the pre-draft process.

For how weird 2020 was, 2021 might be even weirder. There’s a chance you’ll be once again catching passes from Wentz under the watchful eye of Pederson, remained paired up with your ‘Two Jalens’ cohort under a new offensive coordinator (Graham Harrell?), or even become an elder statesman compared to a rookie QB like Justin Fields and a rookie head coach like Joe Brady. The Eagles’ world is pretty much Jeffrey Lurie‘s own personal ‘choose your own adventure’ at this point.

Who knows, maybe it really is just on Pederson to install better plays for Reagor? He did suggest as much during his press availability this week, and if you’ve watched the Eagles play since Week 8, you’ll nary see a route like the one Reagor took for 55 in Week 1 called for the rookie. Outside of the occasional bubble screen or a strange end around/jet sweep, the plays called for Reagor really haven’t been too different from the ones called for Fulgham, Greg Ward, or even the ghost of Alshon Jeffery.

Remember what I said about the Eagles not using Jefferson to his strengths? Imagine how Reagor would look in the Vikings offense with twice as many targets on a variety of different routes.

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So, with five-ish hours left in 2020, it’s time to put the misgivings of 2020 in the past and look forward to the (hopefully) bright future a new year can bring. With one game left to play in the 2020 NFL season – fittingly enough on January 3rd, 2021 – maybe Jalen Reagor’s rookie finale with the Philadelphia Eagles will propel him into a much-improved sophomore season. I mean, he will be 22-years-old when he takes the field against Washington; maybe with age comes experience? I know I won’t be abandoning my black number 18 jersey anytime soon.

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