Reagor confident he’s prepared to finish strong
The way Jalen Reagor has it figured, if he was ready for the NFL the first time, he’ll be ready for it the second. That’s what comes from a lifetime of preparation.
“My dad played nine years in the NFL,” Reagor said Thursday, before practice. “He’s very constructive. And he critiques me a lot. That’s why I have the character I have. That’s why I’m the way I am.
“I don’t let a lot of things bother me.”
In a season with plenty sources of irritation, Reagor is trying to cope. He wasn’t bothered after the draft, when the instant reaction was that the Eagles made a mistake of some unimaginable proportion by taking him with the No. 21 overall pick. Too small, they ruled. And never mind the evidence the Eagles have thrived with small pass-catchers, including Tommy McDonald and DeSean Jackson. That was the verdict.
He didn’t care.
“I’m good,” he assured at the time, proving that a scouting report doesn’t always need to be complex. “I’m good anywhere you want to put me. I may not be the tallest, but I’m very strong on the outside. I play like I’m 6-4 but I’m 5-11. Like I said, I just feel like when you look at me, I’m not an inside or an out
side receiver. I’m a receiver.
“So I can do whatever they need me to do.”
That’s what he thought then, and that’s what he thinks as the Eagles slip into the second half of a rookie season that could have left him frustrated.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m just going to make the most of my opportunities and do what the defense demands. And I am going to just continue to grow and perfect my craft, each and every week.”
Reagor played in two games, was targeted eight times and made five catches, one for 55 yards, none for points. Then he sustained thumb dam
age, leaving him unavailable until Week 8, when he returned to contribute a two-yard touchdown reception to a 23-9 victory over Dallas.
After that score, his first as a pro, Reagor was quick to adjourn to the look-atme camera the NFL has arranged players.
He’d arrived, and was not afraid to make that known.
“It was the same as if there were however-many fans there,” Reagor said. “I play the game for my love of the game. I love the fans. Who wouldn’t want fans. But that was still a very meaningful moment for me, if there were zero fans or a hundred million.
“That was my first touchdown. It was going to be a special moment for me regardless.”
He characterized it
as his first touchdown, though it was also his only touchdown. Either one works. It’s just a matter of expectation, and he expects to begin a collection.
Reagor was expected this season to emerge from a draft flush with passcatchers to combine with Jackson to spread the field and enable Carson Wentz to reach greatness. But he was hurt, and so was Jackson, and Wentz has made 16 turnovers.
The Eagles are confident that it is all about to change. Alshon Jeffery is practicing again, and he could help. Dallas Goedert, a favorite Wentz safety valve, is back. Miles Sanders is healthy and should figure in the passing lanes. And Travis Fulgham, who has emerged as Wentz’s go-to receiver, is still around.
Reagor understands that, and accepts that things have changed since those first two weeks. A hidden risk of any injury is that it could open opportunities for others. As for Fulgham, he took that opportunity and built a mild Pro Bowl candidacy, possibly at Reagor’s expense.
An undrafted free agent winning time over a Night One draft choice was not in the script.
“Travis is my teammate, my homeboy,” Reagor said. “We’re cool. It’s not something that I look at and say, ‘Oh, we haven’t had time.’ I practice with these guys every day and I am just going to continue to grow with them and continue to help them and to let them help me.
“And we’ll collectively do this thing.”
Whatever thing that is, whether it is winning a game Sunday in Jersey against the Giants, a playoff spot or a parade, Reagor is convinced he will be a major contributor. That should be as a receiver, though earlier in the week, special teams coach Dave Fipp gave a small indication that he could be used as a punt returner.
Either way, Reagor is ready, boosted in a way by the unscheduled time off.
“That’s what it is about, seeing the older guys do it, seeing how they’ve done it for so long,” Reagor said, “and then just taking in whatever knowledge I can and being a sponge.”
Reagor is the son of Montae Reagor, a defensive end who won a championship with Denver. In 2007, Montae Reagor
played for the Eagles and won the Ed Block Courage Award for his ability to recover from injuries and excel on the field.
That is some valuable football accomplishment to sop up.
“My dad has always prepared me how to talk, how to work around things, how to present myself as a professional athlete and as a businessman,” the younger Reagor said. “So I feel like everything I have gone through has prepared me for this moment.”
For the second time, that moment has arrived for Jalen Reagor. His thumb is fine. His confidence is fine. He’s prepared.