Philadelphia Eagles: Arguments for and against Greg Ward thriving in 2020
Ward doesn’t put the ball on the ground, and despite his size, he stayed healthy all year for this Philadelphia Eagles team in 2019.
Despite the fact that J.J Arcega-Whiteside started all 16 games last season, he was hurt much of the time. Then, there was that issue with Philly’s top three receivers. ‘D-Jax’, Agholor and Jeffery were slowed by different lesions all year.
Agholor is no longer with the team while Jeffery starts the season on the team’s PUP (physically unable to perform) list. Jackson says that he’s as fast as he’s ever been, but time will tell if that’s accurate. Even if that is the case, he’s only played the full 16-game slate twice in his career, and he hasn’t done so since 2013, the last time that he was in Philadelphia. Don’t be shocked if he isn’t on the field for every game in 2020.
What does this have to do with Ward you ask? It’s simple. Ward hasn’t sustained any major injuries in his NFL career. During his collegiate run with the Cougars, he had a shoulder injury, but he was quickly cleared to play the following week. Again, nothing serious. Sure, there’s a randomness to injuries, but the luck of the Irish might seem to be siding with Ward in that regard. As any ‘Birds’ fan knows, the same can’t be said for his Eagles teammates.
There’s also this. Carson Wentz has developed a good rapport with ’84’, something he hasn’t had much of a chance to do with Ward’s rookie counterparts. Ward is also more familiar with the system which gives him an underrated advantage in an unusual offseason that didn’t feature any preseason games. That may hamper the first-year players slightly.
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Greg Ward may not be as gifted or as electrifying as Jalen Reagor or as fast as DeSean Jackson, but he was talented enough to make a catch when Philly needed him the most in D.C. when the stakes were at their highest. If he can keep doing that in an expanded role in 2020, he will become more of a staple in the Eagles offensive attack for years to come.