Eagles Hope Lightning Strikes twice with John Hightower
You’ve probably heard the phrase lightning never strikes in the same place twice.
Two things there. It’s not true, and the Eagles are hoping John Hightower proves that to you.
The speedy rookie receiver out of Boise State is a Maryland native and happened to gravitate toward Stefon Diggs, the former Minnesota Vikings star who was traded to Buffalo in the offseason for a first-round pick and some change.
The reason Hightower took an interest in Diggs is because the latter is also from the land of crabcakes and football. After all, that’s what Maryland does.
But Diggs had more than that in common with Hightower. Like the Eagles’ rookie, who was chosen in the fifth round at No. 168 overall back in April, Diggs, now 26, was also a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft at No. 146 before ultimately developing into an ultra-rare combination, a deep threat who also happens to be one of the best route runners in football.
The two players both weigh right around 190 pounds and Hightower is lengthier at 6-foot-2 and a bit faster than Diggs. Diggs ran a 4.46 coming out of University of Maryland at the combine, Hightower was a tick better at 4.43.
What must be made up is that attention to detail Diggs has, an almost Marvin Harrison-like ability to turn opposing defensive backs into tops with incredibly sharp and detailed routes.
Diggs didn’t get onto the field until the fourth game of his rookie season and immediately announced his presence to the rest of his league by making then-Denver corner Aqib Talib, one of the best in the game, look lost with his routes. Six receptions and 87 yards later the Vikings knew they had something and Diggs was an All-Rookie team member despite sitting for a quarter of a season.
What followed was two 1,000-yard seasons, a Minneapolis Miracle, and status as a top NFL receiver.
“It’s really good to see that,” Hightower said of Diggs’ success when talking with reporters via Zoom last week. “Obviously somebody from the area making it to the place Stefon Diggs made it to.
"Pretty much growing up everybody knew that Stefon Diggs was gonna be who he is today. It was great to see him from high school to college and now in the league to still doing what he’s been doing.”
The Eagles would certainly take similar success with Hightower, maybe minus the Diva personality that forced the Vikings to deal Diggs, albeit for top-tier compensation.
The knock on Hightower, however, is that route tree which Diggs’ excels at, along with perhaps the ability to get off press coverage.
Diggs, on the other hand, fell in the draft due to some off-the-field concerns rather than trait-oriented criticisms with the possible exception of prototypical size.
The Eagles added a host of new names at the WR position after a disastrous 2019 season starting with Hightower and fellow rookie picks Jalen Reagor, the organization’s first-rounder, and Quez Watkins, a sixth-round selection. The only veteran addition, Marquise Goodwin, has opted-out of the presumptive 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m just learning the offense at all positions so I’ll be able to move around,” said Hightower. “With (Goodwin) being out, I guess they’ll have to figure out the rotation with the reps and everything. That’s pretty much up to the coaches and everything, on how many reps I do get and how many reps I don’t get.”
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportMap Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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