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The Eagles had been linked to every receiver with a fast 40-time in the draft. On Thursday night, the team married one of the fastest ones on the board.
Philadelphia selected Texas Christian speedster Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick in the first round. The hype train had been gaining steam earlier in the day after NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein put the 21-year-old in midnight green during his final mock draft. In fact, Zierlein said the Eagles had become “enamored with Reagor’s speed and explosive potential.”
The move may have come as a shock to some fans in the Philly region. Not in this space, though. Reagor has been written about extensively here as a perfect complement to Carson Wentz, thanks to his lightning-quick legs and insane ability to make defenders miss in space. Reagor was also considered the darling of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who had raved about the Dallas-area native in pre-draft interviews. The Eagles snatched the hometown kid away from their hated divisional rival.
Reagor: Living, Breathing Human-Highlight Reel
Jalen Reagor is a speed demon. Everyone knows that. But the 5-foot-11, 206-pounder is also a workout warrior who incorporates “guerilla training” into his daily regimen. According to Bleacher Report, the Texas native does between 600 to 800 pushups a day while ripping through 70 at a time.
“I feel like I’m the most reliable, the most versatile — I can do it all,” Reagor told Bleacher Report. “I’m not one-dimensional. People get caught up in the hype, and that’s life. I’ve always been the guy that’s flown under the radar, throughout high school, college and everything. It’s crazy how no matter how under the radar people try to make me, I always come out on the better end of it. I don’t see why that should change now.”
Reagor ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, 15th best among wide receivers. He finished his college career with 148 receptions for 2,248 yards and 22 touchdowns. Here are some of his best highlights and SportsCenter plays. First off, Reagor is so much fun to watch …
Remember, he played with a terrible quarterback at TCU …
He lowered his 40-time from 4.47 to 4.22 at his pro day …
Speed is great but Reagor can go up and get the ball, too …
Reagor Ready to ‘Spice the Offensive Gumbo’
Jalen Reagor’s numbers don’t jump off the page but he was the victim of average quarterback play at Texas Christian. His production took a huge hit in 2019 as he was forced to work with three different signal-callers, including a true freshman and transfer from Kansas State. Reagor still caught 43 balls for 611 yards and five touchdowns last season for the Horned Frogs.
In three seasons at TCU, Reagor racked up 148 receptions for 2,248 yards and 22 touchdowns while averaging 15.2 yards-per-catch. He was also an important part of the special-teams unit where he had 23 career punt returns for 409 yards and two career punt-return touchdowns. TCU used him out of the backfield as an occasional rusher, too.
According to Pro Football Focus’ Graham Barfield, Reagor had the lowest instance of accurate passes thrown to him among his peers and saw an accurate pass just 31-percent of the time. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com called the 5-foot-11 receiver “a smooth athlete with blazing speed who has more playmaking talent than receiver skill” in his scouting report.
Spotty quarterback play helped cause a production drop, but his focus and competitiveness also seemed spotty at times. Reagor is a smooth athlete with blazing speed who has more playmaking talent than receiver skill and play-callers need to account for that when determining how to utilize him.
He’s electric with the ball in his hands so getting it to him quickly rather than asking him to consistently make plays for himself as a ball-winner could be crucial. When 2019 is balanced against his 2018, the grade and projection begin to climb with a versatile receiver who’s able to spice the offensive gumbo.
Reagor might be a reach pick at No. 21 but some said that about DK Metcalf last year. How did that turn out? Don’t sleep on Reagor.
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