Philadelphia Eagles way-too-early roster projection: Skill positions
By Hunter Doyle
Philadelphia Eagles sticking with the youth movement at wideout.
Wide Receivers (6): DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward, Quez Watkins, John Hightower
These wideouts improved under Aaron Moorehead last year and this year shouldn’t be any different. All we have to say about DeVonta Smith is that we cannot wait to see him suit up in midnight green. Jalen Reagor had his ups and downs both in terms of numbers and in terms of the All-22 film last year. Either way, he is talented enough to take a step forward this season.
He’ll likely play all three spots like DeVonta but expect a heavy dose of snaps at the Z and slot positions. The Birds need to flank him often and get him the ball in space whether it’s on short routes, screens, reverses, end-arounds, or jet sweeps.
Travis Fulgham will look to replicate what he did in his first five games over the course of a full season. Learning more about the young players on this roster should be a priority of this new coaching staff rather than playing veterans as the last coaching staff did.
The roster construction has shown that it will likely be the case. We just need more tape on Fulgham to determine what he can be at the NFL level. Greg Ward might not be the flashiest wideout but he is reliable on third downs and in the red zone. His value as a situational slot receiver earns him a spot.
Lastly, the two sophomore wideouts from the 2020 draft will make the team. That means that the J.J. Arcega-Whiteside experiment is over. Quez Watkins projects as a role player in this offense. At the end of last year, we got a glimpse of what he could do with more snaps. He has the potential to be a starter and if he reaches that ceiling, don’t be surprised if he plays more this year.
For now, he still has value running routes at all three levels of the field and as a gadget player. Speaking of route running, John Hightower was impressive in that regard last year but his ball tracking skills need to improve. He still has time to improve and also has the potential to start in the future if he can fix some minor issues.