Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Senior Bowl offensive prospects to keep an eye on

There’s a small but incredibly vocal segment of the Philadelphia Eagles fandom who will quite literally go ballistic if Howie Roseman and company don’t exit the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft without a wide receiver.

If that’s you, you have a pretty good case.

Despite having used two of their last six first-round picks on wide receivers, the Eagles lack a true number one pass-catcher to build an offense around – a matter made all the more glaring by the ineffective play of Zach Ertz in 2020.

While some would point to Kyle Pitts as a viable alternative if both Ja’Marr Chase and Devonta Smith are off the board at number six – an outcome that feels unlikely but is possible – don’t discount his Florida teammate, Trevon Grimes, as a viable Day 3 prospect with deceptive upside.

Measuring in at 6-foot-4, 218 pounds with good speed and a massive catch radius, Grimes initially committed to play for Ohio State as a five-star recruit out of Fort Lauderdale, but promptly transferred out after his freshman season following a racially charged berating from then-assistant coach Zach Smith.

In three seasons of action in Gainsville, Grimes hauled in 97 balls for 1,444 yards and 14 touchdowns. Though he never truly broke out and became the number one receiver many expected coming out of high school, getting leapfrogged on the stat sheet by future NFL players like Pitts, Van Jefferson, and Kadarius Toney, Grimes remained a consistent performer for the Gators under Dan Mullens and capped off his senior season with a career-high 589 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games of action.

Did you know Howie Roseman went to Florida? How about that he loves to invest Day 3 picks into hight-weight-speed prospects who can develop into legitimate offensive contributors?

Simply put, if Roseman liked Mack Hollins coming out of college, he probably has a Trevon Grimes fathead on the wall of his office right now.

Will Grimes ever become a true number one receiver? Probably not. While there are players like Stefon Diggs who get drafted on Day 3 and can become stars, they are few and far between. What Grimes does possess, though, is similar body control to the Buffalo Bills’ top offensive option, which leads me to believe that he may be less like an Equanimeous St. Brown-style 50-50 guy and more like his teammate and fellow Green Bay Packers 2018 fifth-round pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

For the price of a mid-Day 3 pick, say a fifth-rounder, Trevon Grimes could be a solid addition to the Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receivers room, regardless of how they decide to attack the position earlier in the draft.

Pro comp: SEC Marquez Valdes-Scantling