On the night the Eagles drafted Jalen Reagor, the first question general manager Howie Roseman fielded was what made Reagor the pick over Justin Jefferson. Reagor has enough of a burden being a first-round pick in Philadelphia; fair or not, it’s only exacerbated by the player at the same position drafted one spot later.
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Reagor, the No. 21 pick, has 12 catches for 159 yards in four games this season. He has twice as many injuries (shoulder injury during training camp, thumb injury in Week 2) as touchdowns. His 55-yard catch in Week 1 showed the explosive ability the Eagles coveted, but that’s also more than his total yards in the other three games he’s played. Meanwhile, Jefferson, whom Minnesota took at No. 22, ranks third in the NFL with 762 yards (he ranks first among players who have played nine games) and fourth among qualified receivers with 18.1 yards per reception.
“That’s the only person that people bring up,” said Reagor, who appeared to delete his social media accounts this week. “It’s not for me to watch another man’s success and be like, ‘Oh, I wish I was —’ … I mean, it is what it is. He hasn’t had any injuries; I have. I can’t watch another man’s journey. I just have to be ready to conquer mine when the time comes. What’s life without scars?”
The scar reference is literal for Reagor, who missed five games because of thumb surgery. That stunted his development. However, even on a per-game basis, Reagor ranks 15th among rookies in receptions (three), ninth in yards (40.4) and 10th in targets (5.3). So even when disregarding the time missed because of injury and just evaluating when he’s played, the Eagles haven’t received the production expected of a first-round pick. The four other wide receivers selected in the first round of this year’s draft lead Reagor in all of those categories.
“Well, listen, he’s missed a lot of football, so there hasn’t been a lot of production,” coach Doug Pederson said this week. “Now, would I like to get him the ball more? Yeah, I would. We’d like to get him more touches if we can. We know there’s one football and we got some explosive guys, too, so it’s hard to just say, ‘Hey, I want to go in and get him X amount of touches.’ It’s also how the defense plays, and we play so much fast, tempo offense that the ball can go anywhere. Our tempo offense is not about scheming one guy. It’s about playing fast and executing our stuff. But moving forward, yeah, I would like to get him some more touches if I can.”
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Ten weeks into a rookie season is far too soon to make an evaluation. At this point in 2014, Jordan Matthews had more receptions and yards than Odell Beckham Jr. So there’s still ample time for Reagor to realize his potential. Anyone who observed Eagles training camp likely came away confident that Reagor could be a threat in this offense.
Pederson said Reagor’s missed time — he missed two weeks before the season in addition to the in-season absences — limited the number of practice snaps and “real-time game plays” that could have aided his development. Pederson added that the Eagles are “throwing a bunch at him and he’s handled it really well,” but said the missed time is “a big deal.”
“So that’s a part of growing and getting chemistry and then it don’t make it no better that I’m a rookie so (Carson Wentz) has to build trust in me and what I’m doing,” Reagor said. “Look at him and (Zach) Ertz. You know what I’m saying? It’s chemistry and y’all know what it is. I haven’t been here. I’ve got hurt. I’ve had two injuries.”
The four-game sample makes it premature to reach any definitive conclusions. Brandon Graham tried chasing away the Earl Thomas comparisons for the first few years of his career. He was almost cut after Year 4. Yet, he eventually became a starter, made the biggest sack in franchise history and is now the most productive player on the Eagles in his 11th year.
Of course, other players never live up to their draft billing. A quick scan of the Eagles’ draft history offers plenty of examples.
Justin Jefferson makes a diving catch against the Bears. (Mike Dinovo / USA Today)
Regardless, the Reagor-Jefferson comparisons aren’t out of line because of the opportunity cost. Jefferson was the more productive college player, ran a faster 40-yard dash, was taller and was generally considered the higher-rated player. It’s not as if Roseman fielded questions after the draft about why the Eagles picked Reagor over Chase Claypool. This isn’t a matter of cherry-picking statistical production as much as it is evaluating a decision with more information.
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The Eagles seemed fixated on “fit,” a term Roseman used when asked about passing on Jefferson. They clearly wanted a speed receiver who could play on the outside. Most of Jefferson’s production at LSU came in the slot. Roseman also mentioned the fit for “where we are as a football team and (to) be a complement to the other players we think we have on offense.”
Based on that explanation, the Eagles viewed Reagor within the context of their other offensive skill players. They invested a 2019 second-round pick in big-bodied receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. They had visions of featuring 12 personnel this season with tight ends Ertz and Dallas Goedert, so having field-stretchers on the outside was appealing. Never mind that the biggest draft investment the Eagles have made at the position since Nelson Agholor in 2015 should have been dictated by a simple question — who will be the best receiver? — not which one fits in a depth chart that was clearly in transition. (Arcega-Whiteside, of course, was a healthy scratch last week. And Ertz’s future with the team beyond this season remains a looming question.)
Reagor still could turn out to the better wide receiver. But it’s that premise that should have been the Eagles’ guiding principle.
Regardless, limiting Jefferson to the slot seemed to be a false projection. He’s lined up in the slot on only 31.1 percent of his offensive snaps this season. By comparison, Reagor has been in the slot on 19.2 percent of his offensive snaps. Jefferson’s route-running prowess has also been apparent. That would seem to be appealing for any team that appreciates open receivers.
Also, the idea that Reagor is the superior downfield threat has not materialized. He has averaged only 9.1 air yards per receptions, compared to Jefferson’s 11.6. And Jefferson’s 14 catches of 20-plus yards are tied for second most in the NFL.
One of the reasons for that is the Eagles view Reagor as a horizontal threat as well as a vertical threat. They’ve moved him around the formation and tried to free him in space to take advantage of his run-after-catch ability — and perhaps exploit a favorable matchup.
“That just goes with me being a dynamic special-teams player and just the background of me carrying the ball and the game plan,” Reagor said. “They’re going to put me in the best position to succeed. Each and every week, I just learn the game plan, go into the game and make sure I execute.”
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Speaking of special teams, the Eagles also gushed post-draft about Reagor’s return ability, hoping that would be an area in which Reagor could offer a tangible upgrade. He’s returned only two punts for 6 yards. In the Eagles’ loss to the Giants on Sunday, Reagor allowed a punt to sail over his head. It was downed at the 6-yard line after bouncing in front of the 15-yard line — well within range for Reagor to catch the ball. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said the Eagles wanted to catch the punt and noted the wind and weather Sunday.
“It was just a great punt,” Reagor said. “How people look at it, they don’t know. I mean, yeah, I should have caught it or whatever, but if you look at where I would have caught it, it would have probably been in the same area.”
Reagor also muffed a punt in Week 1 after having problems fielding punts in training camp. He proved in college what he can do with the ball in his hands (17.8 yards per punt return, two touchdowns at TCU), but he needs to secure the catch before he runs.
Jalen Reagor during training camp. (Heather Khalifa / pool via Getty Images)
Wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead, who played in Indianapolis with Reagor’s father and ex-Eagle Montae, emphasizes a saying he learned from former Colts head coach Tony Dungy: “No excuses, no explanations.” The reference was to adjusting to the NFL with a truncated offseason, but it could apply to how this season has started for Reagor.
When asked when he’s at his best, Reagor said it’s when he’s “in a groove.” It’s incumbent upon Pederson as the play caller and Wentz as the quarterback to find that “groove” with Reagor, because he was drafted and is in the lineup to be a featured player — not a complementary piece.
“That’s up to the coaches and the game plan and that chemistry,’ Reagor said. “That chemistry with me and Carson, chemistry within the offense.
“It’s not just about personally getting into a groove. When the offense is in a groove, it makes everything flow better.”
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How the comparisons affect Reagor remains to be seen, but his alpha personality was part of his appeal. Reagor can never be accused of lacking confidence. Teammates have noticed. When Moorehead discussed Reagor’s confidence, he mentioned “good lineage” as a factor. Reagor developed pro-level habits from a young age, Moorehead reasoned.
“I never had to develop (confidence) because that’s me,” Reagor said. “Like, I don’t ever walk in a room feeling that I’m better than anybody. Because I know who I am. That’s why I said, the same way people bring up this rookie, that rookie, that’s those guys. Like, I hope those guys keep shining. I know most of them, so I mean I wish the best to them and like I said, I want them to keep balling, like (Jerry) Jeudy and those guys. I text those guys after every game we play. Confidence for me regardless if I have a 1,000-yard season or a 500-yard rookie (season). I can control what I can control. So I’m going to forever be confident.”
Of course, the Eagles would be better with the 1,000-yard season than the 500-yard season. At this point, even a 500-yard season would be an improvement over Reagor’s per-game production to date. (Full disclosure, in our predictions for the second half of the season, I predicted Reagor would finish with at least 40 offensive touches; through Week 10, he has 13 offensive touches.)
Neither Reagor nor the Eagles can escape the comparisons between the No. 21 and No. 22 picks. Reagor still has time to make it a more competitive debate — and potentially even a winning one. But the early returns don’t look good for the Eagles.
“What else do you want me to do?” he said. “When your time is coming, it’s going to come and when it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
(Top photo of Jalen Reagor: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)