Philadelphia Eagles fans need to lay off of JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Philadelphia Eagles fans have had plenty to say about JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and most of it has been unneccessary.
When the Philadelphia Eagles selected JJ Arcega-Whiteside 57th overall in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the theory was they were selecting someone who would wind up being their fourth or fifth-string wide receiver. It may be difficult for some to remember this now, but only two months ago, the Eagles were walking into the regular season with one of the deepest rosters in the entire NFL.
They had the returning hero in Desean Jackson, a healthy Alshon Jeffery and a version of Nelson Agholar that fans didn’t completely despise. Philadelphia drafted the Stanford standout to be a red-zone weapon for the future, and then the injuries started.
The deepest roster in the league became the most injury-riddled one in the span of less than a month. Jackson and Jeffery were lost to injuries in the team’s Week 2 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, and the team suddenly was forced to rely on their third-round rookie much earlier than expected.
Whiteside struggled mightily in his first true NFL start, infamously dropping a potential game-winning pass from Carson Wentz against the Detroit Lions, and that’s been the image that has been seared into Eagles fans’ minds ever since. That shouldn’t be the way that we define Whiteside as an Eagle.
Dan Levitan of EstablishTheRun.com wrote earlier this week about the importance of getting Whiteside more involved moving forward:
Eagles have major WR woes as they head into bye. Should be major emphasis on getting JJ Arcega-Whiteside a bigger role. https://t.co/o7e9AMLqH4
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) November 5, 2019
The most preposterous comparison that’s regularly made the rounds this season is the one drawn between Whiteside and Seattle Seahawks rookie DK Metcalf. The comparison claims that Metcalf’s early success makes him a clearly better player than Whiteside and that Eagles management made a mistake in not selecting Seattle’s star rookie. These claims seem sound in passing, but ultimately, they lack the correct context to show the full picture.
Metcalf was drafted to be Seattle’s clear number two receiver for Week 1. Seattle needed to replace a franchise cornerstone after Doug Baldwin‘s retirement, and Metcalf was immediately slotted into their gameplan. He received first-team reps all Spring and Summer and was primed to be one of Russell Wilson‘s top options. Whiteside was simply thrown into the fire once the Eagles injury woes began.
Metcalf’s ability to flourish in Seattle is more an example of the Seahawks’ success in preparing him than an indictment of Whitesides’ talent. Zach Berman of The Athletic Philadelphia wrote about the causes of Whitesides stunted development in year one:
The Eagles' problems at wide receiver did not develop overnight. @ZBerm goes long on Alshon Jeffrey + Nelson Agholor's lack of production, standing pat at the deadline, JJ Arcega-Whiteside's stunted development, draft concerns, DeSean to IR and more: https://t.co/V09wNoTPj5
— The Athletic Philadelphia (@TheAthleticPHI) November 6, 2019
Next. Eagles have found their offensive identity. dark
It’s perfectly fair to conclude that Whiteside’s stellar preseason and training camp lifted expectations. The team’s unthinkable misfortune with injuries and the sudden need to perform with little to no first-team snaps to prepare would doom most rookies. The reality of his short tenure in Philadelphia is that Arcega-Whiteside is still the team’s best bet to replace a rapidly regressing Alshon Jeffery in the coming years. The rookie has the measurables (six-foot-two and 225 pounds) and the track record (28 touchdowns in three seasons at Stanford) to fill those shoes, but he will need the support of the city and his team to grow.