Ranking Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers ahead of training camp

[time2rock]

Ranking Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers ahead of training camp

 

by Geoffrey Knox

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver corps looks a little slimmer now.

What a difference a day makes. When June 9th kicked off, Philadelphia Eagles fans were still, in the back of their minds, thinking about the potential of one Trevon Grimes and how he was someone who didn’t hear his name called for seven rounds of the most recent NFL Draft but, at the same time, talented enough to make their favorite team’s roster and, dare we say, push for significant playing time?

He’s gone now. Yep! That’s how quickly things change in the National Football League.

By the time we got to 4 p.m. EST, quitting time for a lot of the East Coast’s workforce, Grimes had been waived for medical reasons, and with him, went quarterback Jamie Newman and converted wide receiver Khalil Tate, who played quarterback at Nick Foles’ alma mater, Arizona.

And, then there were nine. If Philly doesn’t make any changes to their wide receiver room, which is probably unlikely, they will walk into training camp with nine pass-catchers on the roster. At the time of this story being published, again one day after Newman’s, Tate’s, and Grimes’s release, here’s who will be vying for potentially six spots on the roster.

Here are the top four wide receivers on the Philadelphia Eagles roster.

1. DeVonta Smith

This is either confirmation of how great DeVonta Smith is or an indictment on the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers. The most recent Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t played a down in the NFL yet, and he’s already the best receiver this team has.

2. Jalen Reagor

With Smith taking the pressure off of Jalen Reagor, last year’s first-round selection, this young man will excel in a role that should have been his from the beginning, playing ‘Robin’ to someone else’s ‘Batman’.

3. Travis Fulgham

Travis Fulgham exploded early and cooled later during the 2020 season, but we’ve since learned that he dealt with some injuries late. He isn’t the perfect receiver by any means, but he’s good enough to start on quite a few NFL rosters. He’s also one of the better options this Eagles team has. If the season started today and Fulgham was healthy, he’d probably start on the outside opposite of DeVonta Smith.

4. Greg Ward

Greg Ward always feels like he’s on some sort of roster bubble, but he keeps hanging around. He also continues to make plays every time the Eagles look in his direction. Conventional thinking tells most of us this. If there was a game to play in the next 24 hours, Ward would be on the roster and this team’s backup sot receiver.

5. Quez Watkins

The Philadelphia Eagles landed both Quez Watkins and John Hightower in 2020’s NFL Draft. Hightower was taken 168th-overall in Round 5. Watkins came off of draft boards 32 picks later as pick number 200 in Round 6.

The one thing that Watkins has on his resume that Hightower doesn’t is a touchdown at the professional level. Watkins is also a tad speedier and, arguably, has better hands than Hightower as well. It will be interesting to see who this coaching staff would choose if the last spot on this roster came down to these two.

6. Jhamon Ausbon

With Grimes no longer on the roster, this might be the best dark horse candidate to sneak onto the 53-man roster as one of this team’s wide receivers.

7. John Hightower

If the season started today and John Hightower got left off of the roster, no one should be surprised. He has talent, but he has a long way to go before he can prove that he’s worthy of a roster spot.

8. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside

There’s no reason a second-round draft choice should be ranked this low, but he is. For those of you that think he should be ranked higher, ask yourselves a question (and be honest). Who are you putting him ahead of?

Well, as is the case with so many other failed draft experiments, it’s totally obvious that JJ Arcega-Whiteside isn’t going to work out for this Philadelphia Eagles team. What’s sad about that is this.

9. Michael Walker

Being that Michael Walker, at the time of this story being published, is the last wide receiver that has been added to Philly’s roster, no one should be surprised if he’s the first one released at some point in the near future.

https://insidetheiggles.com/2021/06/13/ranking-philadelphia-eagles-receivers/

 

 

[PoconoDon]

So, unproven, underperforming, and a bunch of meh to could be OK. I hope Smith is for real at this level, and Reagor comes into his own this season. The team really needs those two things to happen.

[brkmsn]

Quote

6. Jhamon Ausbon

LOL

The reason? Because Grimes was waived / moved to IR. Never mind that there are 2 players that have the edge having actually made this team (final 53) last year. We're just going to fall in love with URFAs because ... the grass is always greener ...

Walker at least has NFL experience along with ST value. 

Last year was a mess. As a result, our WRs all underperformed. It was not the cause. We could have had Metcalf and Jefferson last year and still be in the same situation (Coach fired / QB traded / early draft position / losing record / lack of WR production ... )