Philadelphia Eagles: It’s time to bring Travis Fulgham back to Philly

The Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in a tough spot heading into the final third segment of the 2021 NFL season.

Sitting awkwardly with a 5-7 record, the Eagles are still conceivably within reach of the playoffs, as their remaining schedule features only one game against a team with a winning record, but when you can’t beat a Giants team that only put up 13 points at home, does strength of schedule really matter?

How does that old saying go, “when you beat yourself, your opponent doesn’t matter?”

With only two wide receivers plus Dallas Goedert contributing to the team with any frequency, the Eagles desperately need to find ways to get points on the board and chains moving down the field, but with the trade deadline passed and the free agent market dried up, what are the Eagles to do? I mean, I guess the team could sign one of their practice squad players, throw more often to running backs, or simply give a few more targets per game to JJ Arcega-Whiteside, but are any of those moves really going to move the needle?

At this point, Howie Roseman should probably place a call to Travis Fulgham, the Philadelphia Eagles’ top receiver in 2020, and see if bringing the band back together can add some mojo to a decidedly mojo-less offense.

The Philadelphia Eagles are missing a possession receiver like Travis Fulgham.

What made Travis Fulgham good in 2020?

I mean, sure, Fulgham seriously trailed off at the end of the season, corresponding at least in part to the return of Alshon Jeffery, but you don’t just string together five-straight 50-yard performances in a row without having some offensive game.

Well, for one thing, Fulgham is a bigger-bodied receiver. While his 4.58 40 doesn’t leave much to be desired, his height, weight, arm length, and broad jump all ranked in the 80th or higher percentile according to Mockdraftable, which really comes in handy on the outside. Whether targeted on 50-50 balls or tasked with running timing-based comebacks, Fulgham was an easy receiver for quarterbacks to identify and thus target down the field.

Fulgham boasted a large catch radius, only dropped two balls thrown his way, and hauled in 38 of the 67 balls thrown his way, which isn’t elite but isn’t particularly bad either. Carson Wentz specifically had a tendency to throw to Fulgham in double and even triple coverage, and more often than not – at least in my memory – the Old Dominion would come down with the ball.

That’s the good.

The bad? Fulgham isn’t particularly elite at anything in particular.

Fulgham is big, but not like Mike Evans big, He’s a good catcher, but not quite Cooper Kupp, and his speed ranks in the 23rd percentile among combine-performing wide receivers.

Still, when you consider that Greg Ward and JJAW have combined for four catches on six targets plus an absolutely brutal dropped touchdown in Week 12, is Fulgham really that much worse than who Jalen Hurts is tasked with throwing to as he goes through his reads? I mean, I certainly doubt Hurts is going to be particularly eager to toss it to Jalen Reagor on a money down anytime soon, not after watching him drop a pair of touchdowns at the end of Week 12.

Considering Fulgham already knows the playbook, played with most of the team for the better part of a year, and lamented never getting to play at the Linc in front of a full house while signed to the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad, it’s hard not to wonder what could happen if the equipment manager dusts off a number 13 jersey and gives that look another shot.

See what I mean? This man wants to be an Eagle; make it happen, Howie.

When the Philadelphia Eagles cut Travis Fulgham at the end of the summer, it surprised many a fan in the City of Brotherly Love. When he was then released from the practice squad the following month, that really surprised many a fan in the City of Brotherly Love. But do you want to know what’s really, really surprising? Just how little production the Eagles have gotten out of their wide receivers. If Fulgham can just provide a few catches per game, play some special teams, and block on the perimeter, his return may not be as impactful as last season, but it would surely be close.