Philadelphia Eagles: Keep special teams off of Jalen Reagor’s plate

When Jalen Reagor went back for a punt return with 2:22 left to go in the second quarter of Week 13, it felt like a relatively typical play for the Philadelphia Eagles.

What happened next, however, was anything but.

The punt, booted by Branden Mann 45 yards in the air, hit Reagor on the right hand and caused the second-year gadget guy out of TCU to muff the ball, scoop it up on the return with three Jets players in hot pursuit, and attempt to make something out of nothing.

Did it work? Weirdly enough, it did, as Reagor was able to advance the ball from the Eagles’ 33 to the Jets’ 47-yard line, but considering that was the second special teams gaffe of the game by 18, it clearly left a bad impression in the mouth of first-year coordinator Michael Clay. On the Eagles’ very next return opportunity, the second-half kickoff, Boston Scott was back in the endzone waiting for Alex Kessman’s kick, which he advanced from the three to the 16 for a 13 yard gain.

Finally, after weeks of pleading from yours truly and others, the Eagles were making a change for the better at special teams, with a Jason Huntley sighting potentially over the horizon after the bye.

… except that’s not what is likely to happen, not unless Reagor turns in another horrible outing versus Washington or otherwise.

No, when asked about making a swap on special teams, Clay said that the Eagles made a swap on special teams to ‘take something off of Jalen Reagor’s plate‘ and that he’d probably be back to his return duties as soon as Week 15.

*sigh* to paraphrase like everyone on Twitter, the Philadelphia Eagles should probably remove that section from Jalen Reagors’ plate indefinitely.

The Philadelphia Eagles need to make things as easy as possible for Reagor.

Despite his on-field issues, Jalen Reagor is the Philadelphia Eagles’ second-most targeted wide receiver through the first 13 games of the 20201 NFL season, tied with Quez Watkins at 46 behind only DeVonta Smith (and tight end Dallas Goedert).

And yet, over that same tenure, Reagor ranks fifth in total receiving yards behind the aforementioned trio plus running back Kenneth Gainwell – who, again, is a running back – and has the second-worst catch percentage of any receiving option on the team behind only Greg Ward, who has been targeted four times on the season.

Can those three things all be true? Yes. Should they be true? Probably not.

Now granted, some of Reagor’s limited on-field production has to do with the plays being called his way. His average depth of target (9.5) is notably shallower than both that of Smith and Watkins, and his yards-per-catch average has surely taken a hit from being the “beneficiary” of more than a few ill-conceived Nick Sirianni YAC-play, but that doesn’t account for all of Reagor’s issues.

No, when his YAC averages are down 2.5 yards per catch, his drop percentage has more than doubled, and even his broken tackles are down from three in 2020 to one in 2021 on a similar number of targets, Reagor’s dip in production isn’t solely related to a switch from outside receiver into the slot.

Factor in a pair of dropped touchdowns in Week 12, and it’s pretty safe to say that Reagor’s sophomore season has left more questions than answers about his future with the team.

So, with that in mind, why try to diversify Reagor’s responsibilities with two roles on special teams  – which he hasn’t played regularly since 2019 – when he hasn’t even fully mastered playing wide receiver at the NFL level? Why make things harder for a player who, if anything, could benefit from some easier opportunities?

Yeah, I don’t get it either.

In theory, maybe the Eagles brass thought Reagor could string together a few nice returns on special teams, and the added confidence would translate to the offensive end of the field? Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, and frankly, one could argue that results might have actually done the opposite, as Reagor hasn’t had a good offensive game since… Week 3? let alone since taking over return duties in October.

If Howie Roseman’s goal really is to get Reagor more involved to avoid his draft selection looking like an all-time bust, the best way to do so might be to give him some easy offensive touches at wide receiver, as opposed to making him an on-the-fly returman.

As tough as it may be to admit, success is relative for Jalen Reagor and the Philadelphia Eagles. He will never be Justin Jefferson, let alone Brandon Aiyuk, and may ultimately see his starting role completely gobbled up in 2022 by either a free agent addition or by a newly drafted player. But much like Andre Dillard before him, just because Reagor likely won’t fill the exact role Philly drafted him to play – ironically, that role is also being filled by a late Day 3 developmental pick – doesn’t mean he can’t be a viable cog in an offensive machine. Special teams, however, probably shouldn’t be on Reagor’s plate any time soon though, that is, unless he feasts on his offensive portion first.