Philadelphia Eagles: Put in a waiver claim on Josh Reynolds

Through the first seven games of the 2021 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles were one of the pass-happiest offenses in the NFL.

Despite having one of the youngest receiving corps in the league, an even younger quarterback, and an offensive line constantly in flux, Nick Sirianni had his offense throwing the ball 36.4 times per game, with Jalen Hurts recording a career-high 48 pass attempts versus the Kansas City Cheifs in Week 4.

And yet, here we are in Week 10, and the Eagles’ receiving corps isn’t exactly setting the league on fire.

No, despite having two receivers with at least one 100 yard game, the Eagles don’t have a single receiver who ranks in the top-25 receiving yards earners league-wide, with DeVonta Smith coming in at 28 largely off the strength of a 116 yard game versus the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9.

So what gives? How can the Eagles’ offense pass the ball so many times and yet only have one receiver with 500 or more receiving yards through nine weeks?

Five words: Tight ends and running backs.

That’s right, despite having a head coach who cut his teeth as a wide receiver at Mount Union, the Eagles have only thrown the ball to wide receivers 49.5 percent of the time, with Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Dallas Goedert, and the already departed Zach Ertz having been targeted at least 20 times in the passing game. The Eagles only have four wide receivers with at least one target, and Greg Ward, their fourth option, has only been targeted three times despite leading the team in targets and receptions last season.

But how can this be? Aren’t we in the golden age of spreading out the ball? How can the Eagles only have three wide receiver who regularly receive targets in the passing game, especially when one is largely used only on two route concepts, and the other isn’t exactly the model of efficiency.

Maybe it’s because Sirianni just doesn’t trust his current bottom-of-the-roster receiver to do anything but occasionally run block or help out on special teams? Well, if that’s the case, he might just be in luck, as there’s a wide receiver that just hit the waiver wires who could help the Philadelphia Eagles raise their receiving floor moving forward.

And before you ask, no, I don’t mean Odell Beckham Jr., who is officially a free agent after passing through waivers unclaimed.

The Philadelphia Eagles could benefit greatly from a Josh Reynolds waiver claim.

Josh Reynolds is steady.

He isn’t a particularly flashy wide receiver and isn’t elite in any one area of the game, but he’s a pretty good route runner, an increasingly effective hands catcher, and a big body who can play any WR position at a competent level.

A former fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams out of Texas A&M back in 2017, Reynolds spent four years catching passes from Jared Goff before taking his talents to Tennessee to try to establish a more expansive role in an offense that supplements power run with possession wide receiver play.

On paper, the pairing made sense. Reynolds was never going to break into a starting Los Angeles trio that features Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Van Jefferson – just ask DeSean Jackson – and the prospects of playing opposite A.J. Brown as the thunder to his lightning was surely enticing enough to happily accept a one-year, $1.75 million prove-it deal in Music City.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.

Through the first nine weeks of the 2021 NFL season, Reynolds ranked sixth on the Titans in offensive snaps and only caught a pass in three games. He was obviously behind both Brown and Julio Jones, but in a move Reynolds couldn’t have seen coming, he fell lower on the depth chart than Chester Rodgers, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and our old pal Marcus Johnson, none of whom are particularly prolific receivers.

With the trade deadline passed and the writing on the wall, Reynolds was granted his release from the team and officially hit the waiver wires, where he could land on any of the league’s 31 other teams or ultimately go unclaimed and become an unrestricted free agent.

The Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t let the latter situation happen.

But why? I mean, we’re talking about a receiver who can’t even beat out Marcus Johnson for playing time; why would the Eagles want that guy?

Because a year ago, he was a vital cog in a pretty good offense.

Playing in a Rams offense that liked to attack the entire field, Reynolds caught a career-high 52 balls on 81 targets for 618 yards and two touchdowns. Reynolds hauled in the third-highest percentage of his passes of any receiver on the Rams roster and showcased the versatility to play either inside or out, depending on the play call.

That, my friends, is what the Eagles need; consistency.

I know, I know, it would be cool to land a superstar receiver – or a former superstar receiver – like Odell Beckham Jr., but he’s 29, wants to play for a contender, and will surely demand a big-money contract this offseason. Reynolds, by contrast, is 26, available for pennies on the dollar since the Titans have already paid most of his contract, and would surely love to sign a new deal in an offense that actually uses him.

You want a big-bodied slot guy who can pick up yardage across the middle of the field? Reynolds is your guy. How about an outside receiver who can run Nick Sirianni’s favorite comeback and out routes? Reynolds can do that too. How about just a 50-50 ball guy with height who Jalen Hurts can throw the ball up to while scrambling? Yup.

Factor in his ability to contribute as a run blocker, and the idea of securing Reynolds for the rest of the season is a borderline no-brainer.

If the Philadelphia Eagles are only going to target DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Jalen Reagor in any given game, they could two, three, or even five other wide receivers on their active roster, and it wouldn’t much matter. But, just to give Nick Sirianni the benefit of the doubt, let’s assume those three are the only ones getting consistent playing time because the team’s other two receiving options, Greg Ward and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, simply aren’t good enough to garner targets. If that’s the case, claiming Josh Reynolds off of waivers is a borderline no-brainer, as he’s at least a proven pro with over 1,500 receiving yards on his resume and a floor-raiser on an offense looking for consistency.