The one thing Howie Roseman kept emphasizing when talking about Jalen Reagor was his outside speed.
“It was hard to find outside speed in this draft,” Roseman said late Thursday night after the Eagles selected Reagor in the first round of the draft.
That’s what Roseman wanted and that’s what he believes the Eagles got in Reagor, who ran 4.47 at the Combine (he ran much faster at his pro day) and showed the Eagles on tape that he can separate from elite cornerbacks.
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I think you see the separation on tape,” Roseman said. “You see the vertical sepration as an outside receiver and those things are hard to find. When you look at this draft and guys who can just separate as an outside verticle receiver, there’s not a lot of those guys. They’re hard to find. Obviously, a guy went really high who has explosivness and speed (Henry Ruggs III), but he was going to go (long before the Eagles picked).
The Eagles have a couple older veterans coming off injuries in Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson and a bunch of unproven young receivers.
They had to get a playmaking receiver, and the Eagles prioritized Reagor over Justin Jefferson, who went one pick later to the Vikings, because Jefferson is mainly a slot receiver and the Eagles believe Reagor can be an outside receiver as well as a slot, a returner and a runner.
“This guy can definitely stretch the field,” Doug Pederson said. “His verticle - for a 5-10, 5-11 guy, he can elevate, he can get balls above the rim as we say, he has the flexibility not only playing outside but also playing inside and then versatility on special teams as a punt returner and possible kick return guy.”
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Reagor had a big sophomore year at TCU with 72 catches for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns before dropping to 43-for-611-5 this past season while playing with a freshman quarterback.
He also averaged 9.3 yards on 35 carries and averaged 17.8 yards on 23 punt returns.
“Coach and I, after the season ended, we talked about our desire to bring some youth onto the football eam and add some speed, and Jalen has those things,” Roseman said. “This was a very good receiver draft and there were a lot of different flavors. It was like going to Dunkin Donuts and picking out your favorite doughnut. There were a lot of good players in the draft, but Jalen fits something we were really looking for. An exposive guy, ability to contribute as a runner and as a returner, the ability to be explosive with the ball in his hands. These were all things we were looking for and things coach really wanted to stress.”
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