Will Philadelphia Eagles fans see a breakout game from John Hightower?

The Philadelphia Eagles could use a breakout game from John Hightower.

A drop, a screen pass for a loss of yards, and a poor route that ended in an interception highlighted John Hightower’s NFL debut. Philadelphia Eagles fans weren’t expecting such a poor Week 1 outing for the fifth-round rookie, and that’s putting things mildly. Here’s the good news. It’s only Week 3, and there’s plenty of time for Hightower to make up for it. Hopefully, we’re talking about first-game jitters for the 24-year-old.

Despite getting 27 snaps in Week 1, Hightower was on the field for just seven in Week 2. That can probably be attributed to the fact that DeSean Jackson saw an increase in snaps after a lighter workload in Week 1. It was probably good for Hightower to be on the sidelines a bit more though after being thrown into the fire in his debut. Hopefully, that allowed him to watch the more polished receivers and learn more about how they set up certain routes and how to recognize specific coverages among other things.

Here are a few positives if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

It’s way too early to jump the gun and give up on this guy after one bad game. The frustration from Eagles fans is understandable, especially after watching the failures of wide receivers like Nelson Agholor and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, but Hightower’s debut wasn’t all bad. His Week 1 film has shown that he can set up his routes nicely. He also recognizes coverages very well.

His weaknesses were exposed on a few notable plays, but he also was wide open on several others. The problem Philly’s offense had was that Carson Wentz was either on the ground or had already gotten rid of the ball.

At one point in the opening game, Wentz hit DeSean Jackson on a nice dig route over the middle. He also could’ve had Hightower over the top to beat the Washington Football Team’s ‘Cover 3’ defense. It wasn’t a bad decision by Wentz. It’s just an observation. Either way, Hightower has shown flashes like this where he recognized the coverage and found the open part of the field.

A huge test awaits Hightower and the Philadelphia Eagles receivers in Week 3.

With Jalen Reagor sidelined for the time being and with Alshon Jeffery not being quite ready to return, it’s likely we’ll see more of Hightower this weekend versus the Cincinnati Bengals. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside will certainly get his reps since the coaching staff still trusts him for reasons that the ITI staff and most of this fanbase will never understand. Hightower should still see the field a decent amount of time.

At six-foot-one, many have considered Hightower an ‘X’, or primary, receiver for this Eagles offense. That’s where he lined up most of the time in Week 1 too. Jalen Reagor moves around to multiple spots, DeSean Jackson mostly plays the ‘Z’, or other outside position, and Greg Ward is more of a slot guy. That likely leaves Hightower and ‘JJAW’ competing for the ‘X’ spot right now until Alshon Jeffery can return.

If Wentz has enough time to find Hightower this weekend, it could be the breakout performance that Eagles fans have been waiting for. He has the speed to get open vertically and, at minimum, take safety help down the field. Perhaps Doug Pederson will finally utilize Hightower’s speed and call some crosser or drag routes over the middle. Either way, keep an eye on ’82’ when he’s on the field. He could use a bounce-back performance for his confidence and a big game from the youngster could go a long way in helping Philadelphia to its first game of the season.