Guess who the first three receivers on the field for the Philadelphia Eagles were.
Nobody panic. Nobody read too much into anything. It’s August 17th, officially the first day that the Philadelphia Eagles are allowed to wear pads to practice and already there’s much to talk about.
Here’s something that ‘Birds’fans all over the Delaware Valley and the ones dwelling all over the country will find interesting. All offseason, we’ve debated the team’s wide receivers. We’ve talked about who might start and who has a leg up on who for a roster spot.
It’s too early to tell what anything at practice means, but we did see something interesting on Monday. As Philly broke the huddle for their first rep of a much-anticipated practice, something interesting happened.
Three Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers, none of which are over six-feet tall take the field at the NovaCare Complex.
Does anyone want to take a guess at who the first three receivers were on the field in group one? Okay, times up. Rookie Jalen Reagor and DeSean Jackson lined up on the outside while Greg Ward lined up in the slot. Zach Ertz was the tight end. Take a look.
Eagles lineup Jalen Reagor on the outside, with DeSean Jackson, Greg Ward, and Zach Ertz on the outside for first rep of starting offense in practice#Eagles pic.twitter.com/0PggDn0vMl
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 17, 2020
Is it a meaningless sign on the first day at practice, or might we be able to guess that Philly might be eyeing these guys as the wideouts that will accompany Carson Wentz in the starting lineup in Week 1 for the team’s first game versus the Washington Football Team on September 13th in our nation’s capital? Much needs to be worked out before Philly is ready for that one, but game one is less than a month away. We’ll see if this is a trend that continues as camp wears on.
Now, there are a few things that need to be mentioned. One, JJ Arcega-Whiteside didn’t participate on Day 1 as was the case for a few other notable players. Marquise Goodwin is sitting out of the 2020 season. Alshon Jeffery begins the season on the PUP list. ‘JJAW’ is ‘day-to-day’ with a lower-body injury. Their return obviously alters the coaches’ thinking slightly, but as of right now, if this is the lineup, we know two things.
One, running past people will be the mindset, not jumping over them. Ward, Jackson, and Reagor are all under six feet, so stretching the defense may take precedent over going up for those 50-50 balls if these three are on the field together. Second, there are questions about whether or not John Hightower can work his way into the starting lineup and what Arcega-Whiteside’s role is in this offense once he returns.
The former caught a nice one from Jalen Hurts over Rasul Douglas as Day 1 drew to a close. Keep an eye on this one folks, but then, again, no one has to ask you to do that, do they? These are the Eagles wide receivers we’re discussing. They’ll be a conversation piece for the rest of camp.