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

3. Greg Ward figures to play a key role in the Philadelphia Eagles offense, which may push Reagor to second string.

It isn’t easy being Greg Ward. Don’t let the fact that he’s the apple of most Eagles fans’ eyes fool you. Depending on the day, about a month ago, you could wake up feeling like he’s a shoo-in to make this roster or you could feel like he’d be left off barely.

Sure, at this point, you just have to feel like leaving this man off of the 2020 active roster is a grave injustice, but come on, you weren’t really sure, were you? If he was cut, would it shock you?

Recently, we’ve been listening to all of those press conferences with the coaches, and we’ve heard them talk about ’84’. If you’re a fan of Ward’s, you have to like what you’re hearing. Recently, Aaron Moorehead, Philly’s new wide receivers coach, spoke to the Philly media this past Thursday and was very complimentary of ’84’ stating ‘When you do what Greg did at the end of the year, your confidence goes up’.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson put it this way during his most recent presser.

"I’ve always liked Greg. He’s been on our practice roster. As a young player, we activated him. He played last year, (and) as you mentioned, did well. The one thing now as he goes into this season, he’s in that rotation, in that starting mix for us. It’s just a matter of him embracing every day, getting better. Being a former quarterback, he understands our offense. Being in our offense, he knows the concepts and the routes. He and Carson Wentz have a really good feel for one another. I think for him now it’s just a matter of continuing to get better each and every day and putting in the work. We expect some really big things from Greg. He can also be a leader. He can be a leader of that group. Him and DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, these guys, they can be leaders now and mentors to these young players."

It sounds like Reagor is second string unless of course, they put him on the outside. Here’s the thing though. Why would they do that consistently? Sure, Reagor has to be worked into the roster, but with his skill-set and because of the fact that, if he did start, Philly’s top three targets would all be under five-foot-ten inches tall, the imagination wanders.

Would Philly ignore the idea of using him on special teams and in the return game? Can they play him both inside and outside? Are we even certain that DeSean Jackson can play 16 games?

Clearly, we won’t know what the plan is until we see it, but here’s where most of us can agree. When Jeffery comes back, he probably starts. Jackson may need to be put on some sort of pitch count, but who knows if the ‘Birds’ will do that. If Greg Ward is your starting slot guy, there’s a growing contingent that wants to see Reagor moved around in the formation, and that isn’t a bad idea. If that’s Philly’s thinking, figure that Jackson and Hightower are outside, Ward is the slot guy, and Reagor is this offense’s version of a sixth man. It should be fun to watch this unit work in 2020.