Philadelphia Eagles: How those rookie WRs are doing during padded practices

Three Philadelphia Eagles rookies won’t have to worry about flying under the radar.

If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan, don’t worry. You’re going to get a lot of info on everything that those three wide receivers that they drafted are doing. There won’t be any flying under the radar here.

The guys have been running around the NovaCare Complex for a while, but to the football purist, it feels like camp actually started on August 17th, when the ‘Birds’ put the pads on.

Here’s a quick look at how those Philadelphia Eagles rookie wideouts did during the first two days of practice, beginning with Day 1.

Let’s begin with Jalen Reagor. On Monday, he ran onto the field with the first-team unit, along with DeSean Jackson, Zach Ertz, and Greg Ward, who lined up in the slot. Reagor muffed two punts working on special teams with no one around him. That’s something to watch if the ‘Birds’ keep sticking him back there, but on Philly’s opening drive, he hauled in two receptions in stride on slant routes, including this one. It’s a beaut.

Quez Watkins dropped the first pass that was thrown in his direction, but he rebounded nicely with two touchdown receptions during the red zone work. Then, there’s John Hightower. The highlight of his first day was one of the highlights of practice (no disrespect to Dallas Goedert and his one-handed grab in the end zone) as he pulled in one down the sideline that was dropped in nicely by Jalen Hurts. Rasul Douglas was in coverage.

The young Philadelphia Eagles continue to improve on Day 2 of padded practices.

On Day 2, the grind continued. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who was listed as day-to-day on Monday, threw the pads on for Tuesday’s session but didn’t get any work in. One of the most impressive things we learned about Reagor came on a catch that he didn’t make. On a ball that was thrown too high, he went up to try and haul it in. He was unsuccessful, but dude has a serious vertical. That’s good to know.

Later he’d show off the arm strength as he threw the ball to a ball boy but accidentally hit Zach Ertz in the helmet (Ertz is cool. He’s chilling). Quez Watkins continued to shine as well. As many of you know, he went to Houston for a few workout sessions with Carson Wentz. Those two seem to be developing some nice chemistry.

Apparently, the experts are noticing.

Watkins got a lot of opportunities on Day 2, but that could be because DeSean Jackson had the day off. He’d probably be the more natural sub for ‘D-Jax’ as opposed to Hightower right? Who knows? The last play of practice on Day 2 was a touchdown pass from Wentz to Hightower, which was nice to see, but don’t ignore the sixth-rounder. So far, the general consensus is Quez Watkins is making the most of his opportunities and Reagor is the real deal, but here’s something else of note.

We’re probably also all viewing Jackson, Reagor, Hightower, Watkins, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, and Alshon Jeffery as the top guys on the depth chart (whenever Jeffery can return of course), but the other guys didn’t show up at camp for no reason. Take Deontay Burnett for instance. He had a nice diving touchdown that he hauled in from the arm of Wentz. As of right now, it’s hard to imagine him making the roster, but then again, this camp is a long way from being over.