Top pick Reagor will back up Jackson
During his teleconference, Doug Pederson splashed cold water on the expectations this season for Eagles first-round draft pick Jalen Reagor, the deep threat receiver out of TCU.
It wasn’t a slight, just a dose of reality that Pederson delivered when asked if he’d crosstrain Reagor at different positions.
Though the Eagles haven’t gotten together since they were eliminated from by the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round of the playoffs, Reagor had become bigger than life to his fans, some of which predicted he’d exceed the numbers DeSean Jackson put up as a rookie with the Eagles.
Reagor would need 63 catches for 913 yards and three touchdowns to get that done in a lineup that last year featured Zach Ertz (88 receptions), Dallas Goedert (58), Miles Sanders (50) and Boston Scott (24). Alshon Jeffery (43 catches) might be on the roster as well.
Jackson is still around, too. That makes Reagor a backup on a team which isn’t going to change its game plan to accommodate a freshman who still hasn’t shown what he can do in practice, thank you.
“Right now, he’s going to come in and he’s going to learn one position and he is going to learn from DeSean Jackson and learn everything he can,” Pederson said. “Obviously the playbook is extensive and we just have to see what he’s taken from the offseason to training camp. Once we see his potential and his growth, then we can use him in multiple spots.”
The facts are that Jackson, despite injuries that have limited him in recent years, has proven himself to be a generational deep threat.
Jackson has averaged 17.4 yards per reception in 12 NFL seasons. He has 30 touchdown catches of 50 or more yards, trailing only the great Jerry Rice, who had 36.
This past season Jackson sustained a sports hernia that reduced him to playing just three games. Jackson caught eight passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the opener to spark the Eagles to a 32-25 win over the Washington Redskins in the opener. He would catch just one more pass, which is why the front office reached slightly to draft Reagor, who wasn’t the highestrated receiver available on several draft boards.
Reagor has much to prove. The 5-10 ½, 205-pound prospect with getaway speed only recently has he had a chance to play catch with Carson Wentz, the duo getting together in Texas along with JJ Arcega-Whiteside, a secondround pick of the Eagles in 2019, and others.
After Henry Ruggs III ran a 4.27 in the 40yard dash at the NFL combine, Reagor clocked a disappointing 4.47. Reagor then lost weight and ran 4.28 and 4.22 in a private workout. There was no concern with the 42-inch vertical Reagor turned in at the combine.
With Jackson turning 34 in early December, there’s no question the Eagles need to groom another deep threat. He has the skills the coaches can work with.
“This guy definitely stretches the field,” Pederson
said on draft night. “His vertical, for a 5-10 guy, he can elevate, he can get balls above the rim. He has the flexibility of not only playing outside but also playing inside. And he has the ability to play special teams, punt return and possible kickoff return guy. We’re going to see where he best fits us.”
Right now, Pederson is in no hurry to rush Reagor, who needs to find a way to fit in with the rest of the talent on offense.
Backing up Jackson is a fairly honorable place to begin.
We’ll keep him at one position to start,” Pederson said, “and we’ll grow from there.”