Receiver Draft Prospects

With the NFL draft coming up on April 23rd the Eagles have only under a month to decided who they want to select with the 21st overall pick. As I mentioned yesterday it has become increasingly more obvious that they are going to pick a receiver due to their moves on defense and their glaring need for more options at the receiver position. So I'll be going over the top prospects and giving my opinion of them.

I'll be making my rankings based on CBSSports.com's NFL draft rankings. Also, I'll only be doing the top six as the Eagles shouldn't be be picking any worse than the sixth best receiver in the draft.

1. CeeDee Lamb (Oklahoma, 6'2", 198)- Lamb looks to be the most explosive receiver in the draft. In his junior season he caught 62 balls for 1327 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is an incredible athlete who is very shifty and quick. He has incredible big play potential and good hands. He seems to always be one play away from a big play no matter where he is on the field. He is expected to be the first receiver taken which means that the birds will have to trade up if they want to land the best in the draft.

2. Jerry Jeudy (Alabama, 6'1", 193)- Jeudy was one of three dominant receivers at Alabama along with Ruggs and Smith . (Which begs the question how did they not win a national championship but that neither here nor there). In 2019 Jeudy caught 77 balls for 1163 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is considered the best route runner in college football. He is so precise in the routes that he runs and this only makes his 4.4 speed look even better. He has an incredible ability to get open in any situation. He also will likely be a top ten pick which means the birds would need to trade up if they want him. But I think that due to his route running abilty he will complement DeSean Jackson well. However, the size is unattractive in that case since Jackson too is on the smaller side and Jeudy is only 6'1".

3. Henry Ruggs III (Alabama, 5'11", 188)- Ruggs was another one of three in the dominant Alabama receivers. He had 40 receptions for 746 yards and 7 TDs. Ruggs is the speedster of trio and also the proclaimed fastest receiver in college football. He has the ability to get behind any defense and the jumping skills to add make jump balls a good option. The speed is the big thing for Ruggs making him a nice option to pair  with Jackson to stretch the field and possibly open up the middle for Zac Ertz or a bigger guy like J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

4. Tee Higgins (Clemson, 6'4", 216)- Higgins is the biggest out of the group but also has great speed and big play potential. In 2019 he caught 59 balls for 1167 yards and 13 TDs. He ran a 4.39 which was faster than expected meaning that he has the speed to go along with the size. The big thing for him is his size. He is simply a massive receiver and can go up and get the ball against anyone who goes up against him. I think that Higgins is the best fit with the Eagles due to his size. I think that he can pair well with speedster that is Jackson and more long term he would go well with a smaller receiver like Greg Ward Jr., if Ward proves to be long term.

5. Justin Jefferson (LSU, 6'1", 202)- The only thing I know about Justin Jefferson off the top of my head is that he had four touchdowns in the first half of the College Football Semifinal which is just mind blowing. Jefferson had 111 receptions for 1540 yards and 18 TDs (the most impressive stat line, but he did have Burrow throwing to him). Jefferson has great ability to get open and great speed. He's an incredible athlete with a 4.43 40 and a 37.5 in. vert. Most experts predict that the eagles take Jefferson with the 21st pick, but I'm not most experts. I think he'd be a great pick and easy one for Roseman to bring home. I think that he will most likely be who you see in midnight green next year at reciever.

6. Laviska Shenault Jr. (Colorado, 6'1", 227)- To be honest, I don't know much about Shenault due to him playing in the PAC-12 and myself living on the east coast and never seeing PAC-12 football. He had 56 catches for 764 yards and 4 TDs. He is a great athlete and can get open for his quarterback. But, I don't love his highlights. He was used a lot as a goal line wildcat QB, so I think that can speak toward his athleticism. I think that he could fit in with the Eagles but I don't think that it's likely considering he is a higher risk guy coming from a school like Colorado. I don't think the eagles will be the team to take him.

Next: I'll talk about my thoughts on how COVID-19 could affect the 2020 NFL season, later some of my favorite eagles memories and then later I'll get deeper into the draft analysis' looking at potential second, third and forth round picks for the Eagles.

GO BIRDS.

Eagles Receivers Options

The Eagles biggest issue right now is at receiver. With their recents moves on defense its become increasingly more obvious that they are going to build the receiving room through the draft.

Currently, if everyone was healthy right now their starters would stand at DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward Jr. I'll take a look at each one and give my opinion on them.

DeSean Jackson: Jackson got hurt early in the season last year and was aiming for an early playoff return before he found out that he would need season ending surgery to repair a torn abdomen. It was very disappointing to have his year go that way for all fans and it was a huge blow at the position for the team. For next year, DeSean will be primed to explode. He'll be dominant as a deep ball threat for Carson Wentz and will be able to stretch the field for the receiver that they select in the draft.

Alshon Jeffery: Jeffery is in a weird spot right now. At the beginning of the last season he was supposed to be half of a dynamic duo along with Jackson. However, this was not the case. After unproductive game after unproductive game he injured his foot and it ended his season. More interestingly, at around the same time he was caught up in a locker controversy where he was found to an anonymous source criticizing Carson Wentz. At the end of season it was obvious that the Eagles didn't want Alshon on the team next year and Alshon didn't want to be there either. However, at the moment he has not been cut and Howie Roseman has said that he will be back next year. In my eyes, Alshon should not come back, if the Eagles cut him they can take the money hit and open up a slot for the draft pick or someone like Greg Ward to emerge in the spot.

Greg Ward Jr.: Ward expoloded at the end of the season becoming a fan favorite for being known as the only competent eagles receivers after all the injuries and because Agholor didn't know to catch. He came off the practice squad after the eagles were literally out of options at receiver. Ward will be looked onto to continue his end of year success as a number two or three option, behind hopefully Jackson and the draft pick. I hope to see him continue his success as his story has been pretty cool to see unfold.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside: Arcega-Whiteside was a disappointment following the season. After he was picked it looked as though he had very high potential and could possibly have some success as a number three or four receiver. This was not the case. He struggled throughout the year with drops and overall was just unimpressive coming out of college as a jump ball receiver. Next year is uncertain for him. In my opinion he gets pushed out of the rotation with the Eagles selecting at least two receivers in the draft and is not on the team after the 2020 season. 

Tomorrow I'll talk about the potential receivers that the Eagles could select with the 21st overall pick. And later in the week I'll dive into how COVID-19 could effect the NFL's season.

This will be a blog about what's going on with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are my favorite team and I have been a die hard fan for the entirety of my life and I will never lose my love for the Eagles. I was born in to it with my father grandfather and great-grandfather all being eagles fans.

I'll be writing about anything that has to do with the eagles along with opinions that have as toward whats going on with them.