Philadelphia Eagles roster outlook: 3 offseason options for 2020

1. Could Philly roll the dice on Demarcus Robinson?

In 2016, there were reports that the Eagles had an interest in former Florida Gators wideout Demarcus Robinson during the draft process. Unfortunately, there were off-field concerns that surrounded the talented pass catcher, and that forced a few teams to shy away. He’d eventually come off of draft boards on Day 3 of that year’s NFL draft.

Former Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid took Robinson in the fourth round and as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, during his rookie season, he only played on special teams, but he got a little more involved in his second and third seasons.

In 2019, the 25-year-old nearly doubled the production he amassed over his first three seasons. Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill missed time due to injuries, and Robinson proved that he was up to the task.

In 16 games with ten starts, Robinson caught 32 passes for 449 yards with four touchdowns. He finished with an average of 14 yards per catch. That tied Odell Beckham Jr. and was actually better than what we saw from Calvin Ridley. According to NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, Robinson also averaged 3.1 yards of separation on every play. That eclipses what Julian Edelman, Chris Godwin, and Keenan Allen did. Check out out a couple of highlights from his best game of the season. This one’s courtesy of the NFL’s official Twitter account.

He might not be seen as an elite receiver or a rising star like some of those guys, but he can still get the job done when needed. He’s not going to be at the top of anyone’s depth chart, but he can produce as a solid third or fourth option, something Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson couldn’t do in recent years.

At six-foot-one and with 33-inch arms, Robinson can go up and grab the 50-50 balls. He also has the speed to accelerate downfield. Some of his best catches also came because of his knack for finding open space in zone coverage, a skill we all saw Greg Ward Jr. develop towards the end of the year.

Robinson’s measurables, experience, and ability to produce against both man and zone coverage make it worth it for the Eagles to take a chance on him. He’s a less-expensive option than many of the receivers who are still available.