Jalen Reagor's Lack of Production Addressed by Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni
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Jalen Reagor is a first-round pick who is now the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver, surpassed by Quez Watkins, a sixth-round pick that came in the same 2020 draft as Reagor.
Nick Sirianni said as much on Wednesday when the Eagles’ coach sat down with general manager Howie Roseman for their end-of-season news conference, which ran about 35 minutes long.
Now, many may argue that Reagor should be a wide receiver shown the door this offseason, and maybe a trade will be explored.
Right now, he is third on the depth chart behind DeVonta Smith and Watkins.
“We want more production from Jalen Reagor and he has all the talent to do so,” said Sirianni. “So, I like him in that No. 3 spot right now to be able to make plays because he has skill, he has talent. It's our job as coaches to get that skill and that talent out of him so it produces on the field. And it's our job as coaches to put him in position to succeed.
“And that's a two-way street. I'm not by any means saying I'm taking all the blame or all the credit or whatever it is, because it's a two-way street, and Jalen has to make the plays when the opportunity arises. But he does have extreme talent for what we are considering a No. 3 receiver – to be able to make plays.”
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Fair or not, Roseman will forever be the GM who drafted Reagor one spot ahead of when the Minnesota Vikings took Justin Jefferson.
“Certainly, heading into year three, expected more from Jalen at this point,” said Roseman. “We had a chance to sit down with him after the season and had an honest conversation about the things that he needs to develop and the things that we can help him develop to continue his growth, in terms of learning from anything. We have to do that. We have to continue to evolve.
“We kind of have to look at not only the things that maybe we don't like about our decision-making, not just talking about Jalen in this situation but talking about as a whole but also the things that we did well. I think that's part of continuing to grow in your job and in your profession.”
Reagor finished his second season with 33 receptions for 299 yards and two touchdowns. In his two seasons, he has 64 catches for 695 yards and three TDs.
As unhappy as Eagles fans are with Reagor, making their displeasure known late in the season when he was booed whenever his name was announced, Reagor is just as unhappy with his situation, according to some close to him.
One thing is clear about the WR group, it will be Smith and Watkins who return in 2022.
The others, well, that will be an examination for another time.
Quez Watkins scored his first TD of the season in Week 18.
USA Today
Sirianni talked about how Smith is a true No. 1 and Watkins, the coach said, “can be one of the best No. 2’s that I've been around in the NFL because of his skill set and because of his ability to make plays.”
Watkins had 43 grabs for 647 yards and one score.
“He's our No. 2 wide receiver,” said Sirianni. “He has big-time speed, and he has a knack to make plays. Of course, you always want to get – the style of offense that we played this year didn't allow for Quez to get as many touches as he probably deserves, but we did everything we could do to win each individual game. So, Quez has big-play ability in him.”
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Smith closed his rookie regular season with 64 receptions for 916 yards, breaking the team’s rookie record for yards in a season that DeSean Jackson had held since 2008. His five receiving touchdowns led the team.
“DeVonta Smith, I think he is a number one receiver, and he continues to get better,” said Sirianni. “Why do I think he's a number one receiver? Because he can consistently win one-on-one, he can get the ball into his hands and make plays with the ball in his hand, maybe run a short pass. He catches everything. His competitive nature.
“I don’t think that there are a lot of true No. 1 receivers in the NFL, and I think we have one that is going to continue to get better.”
The coach talked about Ward’s leadership and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside’s ability to block in the run game, but they could be on their way out the door, and perhaps Reagor joins them.
That would open up the need – again – for a receiver either through free agency or the draft.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
