First things first, the Eagles now sit in third place in the dismal NFC East. Washington’s win over Dallas on Thanksgiving, coupled with New York’s victory over Cincinnati on Sunday, dropped Philly in the standings. Luckily, all the Eagles have to do is beat Seattle on “Monday Night Football” to reclaim the division lead. Interesting year, huh?
More interesting was the stellar play of two intriguing rookies that the Eagles seemingly passed on in April’s draft. Carolina’s Jeremy Chinn picked up back-to-back fumble recoveries and returned them for touchdowns against Minnesota in a matter of 18 seconds, marking the first defensive touchdowns on back-to-back plays in NFL history. Chinn, who was taken 11 picks after Jalen Hurts, finished with 13 total tackles on the day for the Panthers.
Jeremy Chinn with back-to-back fumble return TDs 😳
(via @Panthers)
He wasn’t the only one on the radar of irate Eagles fans sitting at home on the couch. Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson continued his campaign for Rookie-of-the-Year honors by hauling in seven balls for 70 yards, including two pivotal touchdowns. The rookie out of LSU led all Vikings receivers in targets (13) and his 10-yard score late in the fourth quarter was a “filthy” clinic in professional route-running. Jefferson, who was chosen one pick after Jalen Reagor, has 52 catches for 918 yards and six touchdowns.
This route is FILTHY, @JJettas2 🔥
(via @thecheckdown)
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Eagles Fans Roast Team for Missing Talent
The Eagles boast one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in sports so naturally, they roasted the franchise following the highlight-reel plays from Chinn and Jefferson. Hurts will reportedly get a chance to prove himself with increased snaps this week against Seattle. And Reagor has talked about being hurt and not getting caught up in the unfair comparisons to Jefferson.
Jeremy Chinn, 64th overall pick in the Draft. A good young safety now just today has more TD’s than JJAW, Reagor and Hurts combined. That’s right. A SAFETY….good thing the #Eagles roster is so deep we had the Luxury of taking a developmental Qb with the 53rd pick………..
Both the evaluation and the reasoning for the #Eagles taking Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson looks worse and worse each week. Jefferson is a star.
They also were quick to throw J.J. Arcega-Whiteside — last year’s second-round pick out of Stanford — into the miserable mix of missed picks. Arcega-Whiteside has seen just 100 offensive snaps in 2020 while accumulating 12 receptions for 214 yards and one touchdown in two seasons. For a mind-blowing juxtaposition — one brought up by several fans on Twitter — Tyreek Hill had seven catches for 203 yards and two scores in the first quarter on Sunday.
Eagles Improve NFL Draft Order
Looking for positive news? Look no further than next year’s draft order. If the season ended today, the Eagles would hold the seventh overall pick in 2021. That would put them in the conversation to grab an impact player like linebacker Micah Parsons (Penn State) or receiver Ja’Marr Chase (LSU) or cornerback Patrick Surtain II (Alabama). Of course, they could always opt for a top-rated quarterback up that high.
If the Eagles somehow win the NFC East — they are only one game out of first place — then the team would likely draft at 18, 19 or 20th overall. Two of the top linebackers being linked to Philly there are Alabama’s Dylan Moses and Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Again, that’s assuming the Eagles would put a priority on the linebacker position which is a huge assumption.
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Eagles Fans React to ‘Missing’ 2 NFL Rookie-of-Year Candidates