Jalen Reagor was the Perfect Fit at 21 for the Eagles

An hour before the draft, I tweeted a list of players I would be happy with the Eagles leaving the first round with and Jalen Reagor was on it. It was between Jalen Reagor and Justin Jefferson, and the Eagles picked the player that fits their need. I do believe Jefferson can play outside, but I do feel like it was a big risk to take him. The Eagles needed an outside receiver and Reagor was the second-best in the draft behind Alabama’s Henry Ruggs.  

As we are an hour away from the 2020 NFL draft, here are the players I would be happy leaving round 1 with.

– CeeDee Lamb
– Jerry Jeudy
– Henry Ruggs
– Justin Jefferson
– Jalen Reagor
– Kenneth Murray
– Patrick Queen
#Eagles

— Justin Bradley (@JustinJBradley) April 23, 2020

I get it, Eagles fans are upset about CeeDee Lamb going to the Cowboys and I am too, but don’t take your hate out on Jalen Reagor because you’re going to regret it. Jalen Reagor brings big-play ability and YAC, both things the Eagles lacked heavily the past two seasons. Reagor can win on all three levels of the field. Don’t let Reagor’s combine 40-time fool you, his game speed is incredible. He did run a 4.22 in his virtual pro day after losing a couple of pounds. Reagor had a dropoff in stats but it wasn’t because of him. Scouts say that his QB was “The worst QB in college football”. Here’s a chart that shows the percentage of accurate passes thrown their way. Jalen Reagor at the bottom, with a horrific 31%.

TCU’s quarterback Max Duggan completed 181 of his 339 passes a total of 53.4 percent. Duggan threw 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. It’s clear how bad of a QB Reagor had, but he tried to make the most of it. In his three years at TCU Reagor had 8 different QB’s throwing him the ball. Yes, not one, not two, not three, eight different quarterbacks. Reagor, however, did have 9 drops out of his 92 targets which is a problem, but I believe the QB played a big role in that. He had zero drops in the red zone in his career at TCU. Last year, Reagor had 1,061 yards and nine TDs with a better quarterback.

Reagor brings versatility to the team as he can return punts, another problem the Eagles had last year. The Eagles struggled to make big plays from special teams that put the offense in bad field position. Reagor can also be a threat in sweep or screenplays. Reagor had 14 carries for 89 yards averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Doug Pederson and the Eagles offense lacked creativity all season and Reagor can help with that problem instantly. 

Standing at 5’11 Reagor doesn’t seem like he can be a jump ball threat but you will be surprised. Reagor had a 42-inch vertical jump at the Combine. This is what Reagor had to say following his selection regarding his verticality.

#Eagles Jalen Reagor on conference call: “I’m not an outside receiver, I’m not an inside receiver. I’m a receiver. I can line up anywhere.” Also: “I’m 5-11, but I play like I’m 6-4”

— Ed Kracz (@kracze) April 24, 2020

Reagor’s dad Montae Reagor played for the Eagles in 2007 and was a coaching intern for the Eagles in 2011. He also has a connection with new wide receiver coach Aaron Moorehead. They were teammates on the Indianapolis Colts. Reagor met with the Eagles multiple times and you could easily tell how much interest the Eagles had in him. 

Jalen Reagor seems to love where he has landed and I wouldn’t blame him he will have an MVP caliber QB throwing him the ball. 

New #Eagles WR Jalen Reagor on playing with Carson Wentz: “It’s Carson Wentz. His name speaks for itself. Just the fact I get to be alongside those guys, it’s surreal. I watched Carson Wentz. This dude is amazing. Now he’s my quarterback.”

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) April 24, 2020 

Reagor will bring a great mindset to the locker room who will elevate the play of others. Don’t forget he will become very close with DeSean Jackson who has a very similar play style as him. Jalen Reagor will have a lot of pressure on him and mainly for the wrong reasons, but he will be able to handle it, unlike Agholor. 

The Eagles now need to draft another receiver that compliments Reagor, and there are plenty of names. It’s up to Eagles to decide whether they want a bigger possession type receiver or another speedster. Here are some notable names available and there are many other quality wide receivers out there:

• Denzel Mims 
• Laviska Shenault
• Van Jefferson
• Devin Duvernay
• KJ Hamler
• Bryan Edwards
• Michael Pittman Jr.

The second day of the draft starts at 7 pm EST tonight on ESPN, and we are going live again to give our immediate reactions. Be sure to follow The Liberty Line on Twitter @LibertyLinePHL.