Philadelphia Eagles: 1 dark horse wide receiver worth rooting for

On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Keric Wheatfall to a non-guaranteed contract after a successful stint at rookie minicamp earlier this month.

Who, pray tell, is Keric Wheatfall? Well, I’m glad you asked. A three-star recruit out of Cypress, Texas, according to ESPN, Wheatfall began his college career at Blinn College before transferring to Fresno State over interest from Colorado State, Utah State, and Boise State and spent three successful seasons with the Bulldogs, catching 78 passes for 1,286 yards and a half dozen touchdowns over 26 games.

Measuring in at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Wheatfall has solid size, decent speed – he ran a 4.55 40 at Fresno State’s Pro Day – and enough upside to warrant a longer look as a part of the 90 man roster.

Do you want to hitch your cart to the Wheatfall wagon heading into camp? I mean, probably not, but hey, that doesn’t mean there aren’t at least a few wide receivers who could shock the world and sneak their way onto the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster this fall. Even if six wide receivers expected to make the roster this fall are more or less set, that doesn’t mean a seventh couldn’t, for one reason or another, find a way to stick around and maybe even make an impact either from the practice squad or as a Corey Clement-style stash at the bottom of the roster.

Keep an eye on Devon Allen during camp, Philadelphia Eagles fans.

Devon Allen might just be the most unconventional rookie wide receiver in the NFL. He’s 27, hasn’t played organized football since 2016, and he only recorded 13 catches for 235 yards combined during his final two seasons at Chip Kelly’s former employer, the University of Oregon.

And yet, in my humble opinion, Allen might just be the most intriguing story to follow of any dark horse player on the Philadelphia Eagles this summer and is a borderline lock to stick around on the practice squad at the very least.

Why? Because Allen is an Olympic-level athlete… literally.

Though he did play football for the Ducks from 2014-16, where Allen really shined was on the track and field, um, track and field, where he won multiple national meets at the 110 meters hurdle. He parlayed that success into a contract with Nike, who he ran for from 2017-21, and a spot in two Olympic competitions, first in Rio in 2016 and then in Tokyo last year.

From there, Allen returned to football, where he ran a 4.35 40 at Oregon’s Pro Day and caught the eye of Howie Roseman and company, who signed him to a standard three-year, rookie-scale UDFA contract.

But why? Two words: Special teams.

That’s right; after watching Jalen Reagor struggle as both a kick and punt returner in 2021, Allen’s experience running very fast and jumping 3.5 feet in the air every 10 or so yards makes him a very intriguing special teams option indeed. He has good size for a return man, enough speed to beat opposing defenders off the line as a gunner, and, while it probably won’t happen all that often, could provide a fun wrinkle to the offensive side of the ball on jet sweeps and the like.

Considering there probably won’t be too big of a market for a 27-year-old track and fieldman who hasn’t played football since 2016, I would assume Allen is a borderline lock to at least make it onto the practice squad based on his athleticism alone.

For better or worse, the Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiving corps is more or less set heading into the 2022 NFL season. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Zach Pascal will all receive major looks on offense, Greg Ward will likely stick around as a utility offensive player, and Jalen Reagor will probably stick around too and earn more touches than fans would like to see in this, his third professional season. Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a spot for Devon Allen at the NovaCare Center this fall, either as the team’s primary returnman or as a developmental option on the practice squad.