Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Reasons John Hightower could start over Jalen Reagor

John Hightower (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
John Hightower (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia Eagles
John Hightower (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

1. Hightower has the prototypical size to play both inside and outside for these Philadelphia Eagles.

Even if you didn’t know who John Hightower was, if you were out and saw him walk into the room, you might ask yourself ‘is that a professional athlete?’. This 24-year-old stands at six-foot-two and tips the scales at 190 pounds. Reagor’s a tad shorter (five-foot-eleven) and right about in the same ballpark with Hightower in terms of weight (197 pounds), but every glance at the fifth-rounder gets the imagination going.

Can you imagine a guy this swift of foot going up to corral those 50-50 balls? Might his length give him an advantage on third down and in the red zone that a shorter Greg Ward, DeSean Jackson, and Jalen Reagor don’t possess?

If Philly trots out three shorter receivers on first and second down, and two of them are ‘D-Jax’ (five-foot-ten) and Ward (also five-foot-ten), wouldn’t it behoove Philly to have a tallet target on the other side? That’s where Hightower’s value can really come into play. Keep in mind the fact that no one knows when Alshon Jeffery (six-foot-three) will be able to play.

Hightower’s size makes him interesting. He isn’t just some lumbering wideout either. He can run past guys, and he can jump over them. Don’t look now, but a guy that we haven’t talked about much could wind up being somebody that we talk about all season.