ArcegaWhiteside shows he has speed, too

Eagles wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside was well into an ambitious offseason workout plan before the pandemic hit.

The 2019 second-round pick out of Stanford was tired of telling family, friends, and teammates that his first NFL season was a dumpster fire.

Somewhere between the twohour workouts with the track coach, the weightlifting and the hours catching footballs from the JUGGS machine Arcega-Whiteside purchased, the Eagles drafted three receivers.

All of them can fly starting with first-round pick Jalen Reagor, who made this play and that one while Arcega-Whiteside nursed tightness in his leg in the early portion of training camp.

That all changed Thursday when the new and improved

Arcega-Whiteside got open all morning against whoever the Eagles threw at him. Underneath, over the middle, deep, Arcega-Whiteside did it all. And he did it fast. At one point he celebrated after bursting through the defense with a throw by Carson Wentz. Don’t put Reagor in the starting lineup just yet.

“Around this time last year, I was trying to learn all the plays, try to find chemistry with Carson, learn how everything works in the NFL,” Arcega-Whiteside said. “Second time around, I mean, shoot, I hate to say that I know all the plays because obviously there’s going to be a day or two where I have a mental error but I’m pretty confident

in the plays. I don’t go into practice with a script in my hand trying to memorize the plays that I have. I’m in the huddle, call the play, I know what I’ve got to do. Now I can play faster. I can play more confidently and show everybody what I can do instead of trying to do the right thing.”

Arcega-Whiteside’s rookie season was an immense learning experience. He got a chance to play almost from the beginning as veterans Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson were hurt.

At the same time, ArcegaWhiteside was learning to play hurt as he nursed a hamstring issue and other bumps and bruises throughout the 16-game season. He finished with a flourish, catching the bulk of 10 passes for 169 and one touchdown late in the year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to run past anybody, as

he did in practice Thursday.

That’s why Arcega-Whiteside looked up the track coach.

“I can run,” Arcega-Whiteside said. “I didn’t prove it last year but this year we wanted speed, so I got my speed up, too, just so I could show them that we’ve got a receiving corps full of fast guys. Not just one, two or three guys. Everybody in this receiving corps can run.”

Last season Arcega-Whiteside checked in at 6-2, 225 pounds. This year he’s around 218 pounds. And the Eagles are better for it.

“He’s really in a good spot,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “He understands our offense. I think one of the things is he’s learned from how he played last year, from the opportunities that he got and how he’s using that now moving forward. Learning from those experiences has really helped him for the times that he’s been on the field. These next few days we’re excited about getting him back out there and getting him working with the offense again.”

Arcega-Whiteside is doing his part to answer the questions of the rookie receivers, a list that includes John Hightower and Quez Watkins.

Bringing out the best in them brings out the best in Arcega-Whiteside.

“As far as who is going to be the starters and who is going to be the backups, it’s too early to tell,” wide receivers coach Aaron Moorhead said. “Right now, JJ is doing a great job. His experience last year of having to move around a lot last year because of injuries has been great for him. And Jalen has been doing a good job as well.”