Philadelphia Eagles: What should Travis Fulgham’s role be in 2021?
By David Esser
Does Fulgham have a role with the Philadelphia Eagles?
For a stretch of about five games, it looked like the Philadelphia Eagles had literally found themselves the second coming of Randy Moss. Travis Fulgham – a former sixth-round pick who had been cut a handful of times – exploded onto the scene for Philly in Week 4. Through his first five games with the team he logged 29 catches, 435 yards, and three touchdowns. He was dominating guys like Marlon Humphrey and Joe Haden on the outside, and the immediate connection that he formed with Carson Wentz was impossible to ignore.
However, after two slow games against New York and Cleveland, the practice squad sensation started to see his playing time start to decrease. By the time Alshon Jeffery was fully healthy and ready to play significant snaps again, Fulgham was all but out of the Eagles wide receiver rotation. He played a season low 11 snaps against the Saints in Week 14, receiving zero targets.
Fulgham is 100% going to be on the roster in 2021 – there’s almost no debating that. He’s set to earn just $850,000, and even with his lack of playing time the last couple of weeks, he’s still the Eagles first 500+ yard receiver in two full seasons. Considering the state of Philadelphia’s cap situation and overall wide receiver position, it would be a complete malpractice to release him during the offseason.
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With that said, it’s pretty unclear as to what Fulgham’s role will be in his second year with the Eagles.
Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson are both set to be cap causalities this summer, freeing up more playing time for someone like Fulgham, but the Eagles coaching staff has clearly soured on him. For what it’s worth, there’s definitely some truth to the Eagles belief that Fulgham isn’t worth lining up at WR1. His average yards of separation ranks 12th worst in the NFL (2.3), and his catch rate has plummeted to a measly 56.92%. Were these metrics worth a 25 year old receiver hitting the bench for a soon-to-be-released Alshon Jeffery? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Regardless, Fulgham’s role in the 2021 offense comes down to two things. Who will be coaching the team? Which receiver will the team draft?
For starters, if Doug Pederson and his crew end up returning for another year, it’s hard to imagine Fulgham being reintegrated into the offense. Pederson clearly doesn’t believe in Fulgham’s longterm potential, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
If Pederson is in fact fired this summer, Fulgham’s standing with the team then pivots towards who the Eagles end up selecting in the 2021 draft. Fulgham is very much an “X” receiver when it comes to traditional WR positioning, and the selection of someone like Ja’Marr Chase at the top of the first-round would eliminate the need for someone like Fulgham on the outside.
If the team ends up snagging a pure deep threat, or a smaller slot receiver, the need for a big-bodied X receiver will be present. Fulgham could end up filling that role by default, getting another shot to establish himself as a true NFL starter.