Eagles Add Speedy Playmaker

Posted: April 24th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Eagles Add Speedy Playmaker

Everyone wanted the Eagles to get a receiver. The debate was over which receiver to get.

CeeDee Lamb was considered to be the top receiver and a player the Eagles would have virtually no chance to get. But the draft rarely goes as planned. Lamb slid down the draft board and got all the way to pick 17. It seemed like there might be a miracle in the making.

But then Dallas struck. The Cowboys took Lamb at 17 and broke the hearts of all kinds of Eagles fans.

Eagles Nation then turned its hopes to LSU star Justin Jefferson. If he made it to 21, surely he would be the pick.

Say what?

I wasn’t all that shocked. I have spent the last month or so explaining that this isn’t simply a case of which receiver is best. These are different players with different skill sets. They aren’t just interchangeable.

Jefferson caught 118 passes last year for LSU. He is a volume receiver. You build your passing game around him and feed him the ball.

The Eagles won a Super Bowl by running an offense that spread the ball around. They don’t want to feed the ball to just one guy. They had to do that with Zach Ertz in 2018 and the offense really struggled at times.

By drafting Reagor, the Eagles got themselves a playmaker. He doesn’t need 85 catches. Reagor can make an impact with 40 to 60 catches. You put the ball in his hands and he makes things happen.

I like Reagor for a few reasons. First, he is explosive. You see times when he just pulls away from defenders. Reagor didn’t run a great time at the Combine (4.47), but game tape shows him as faster than that.

Reagor is aggressive. Watch the way he attacks the ball in the air. Some receivers wait for it to come to them. Reagor jumps up and extends his arms to get the ball up high.

Reagor is a hands-catcher. He doesn’t let the ball get into his body.

He is a playmaker. Reagor returned two punts for TDs. He averaged more than 30 yards per KOR in his first couple of years. He averaged more than 13 yards per run in 2018. Put the ball in his hands and he will make plays.

Reagor plays with an attitude. He’s 5-11, 206, which is average size. But Reagor plays bigger than that. He has a 42-inch vertical and that shows up in games. He explodes to get the ball up high.

The Eagles got a 21-year old receiver who can run and make plays. This is a pick that should make you happy when you think of it in basic terms.

Not everyone will do that, and I get the criticism.

Most people wanted Lamb. He slid and was in reach of the Eagles. Howie Roseman said the team made calls, but it just sounds like the price was too high.

There is a question of value for Reagor.

One problem you have as a draft analyst is trying to come up with rankings that are fair to players and teams. Analysts are making general rankings. Teams have specific needs or traits that go into their rankings. The Eagles had a high grade on Reagor. DJ did not. Part of that is Reagor being what the Eagles were looking for.

Howie said the Eagles did make calls about moving back. The problem is that they feared another team taking Reagor. This wasn’t a player the Eagles wanted to risk losing.

Drops were an issue for Reagor at TCU. However, he had to deal with poor QB play and that was part of the problem. Watch him in action and  you see a guy who uses his hands and looks natural catching the ball. I think the drops issue can be addressed by better QB play and also better coaching.

Some people are going to hate this pick, for whatever reason. The Eagles thought very highly of Reagor. This is a guy they had targeted and really wanted to get.

The Eagles added an offensive playmaker and someone with big time speed. At the end of the day, that’s a pretty good start to the 2020 draft class.

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