Eagles Rookie WR Joseph Ngata Set for Preseason Breakout?
The reigning NFC Champs will be taking the football field for their first game since coming up just short in the Super Bowl ... sort of. It’s the Philadelphia Eagles’ first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, meaning that bottom-of-the-depth chart players will be pleading their case to make the final roster, so keep an eye on undrafted receiver Joseph Ngata.
Ngata was the No. 6 receiver in his class coming out of high school, per 247Sports' rankings, garnering comparisons to New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas thanks to his size, speed, and hands.
However, college football didn’t go as he expected. At Clemson, he would average roughly 322 receiving yards, 22 receptions, and 1.5 touchdowns across four seasons. With such little production, it’s no surprise that he went undrafted.
On Saturday, though, Ngata will have the opportunity to prove he’s still that same guy everyone believed he was back in high school. A five-star mismatch standing at 6-3 could be a great red-zone option in Philly.
At the Eagles training camp, he’s reportedly been impressive thanks to his ability to catch anything thrown his way. After running a 4.54-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, Ngata won’t be expected to pull away from cornerbacks with his speed, but having strong hands and great size could make him a valuable asset for Philly.
In recent years, players like Hunter Renfrow have come out of Clemson and surprisingly shown that the league might actually be a better place for them to display their skill set than college. Perhaps Ngata is cut from that same cloth.
As of the current depth chart, Ngata is the No. 4 receiver at A.J. Brown’s position. He's far from guaranteed a roster spot, but the preseason will provide him the platform to do so.
When the Eagles take the field Saturday against the Ravens, low-ranked players on the depth chart like Ngata will be able to plead their case as to why they should have been drafted and deserve to be in the NFL.
If Ngata dominates the Ravens’ backups and looks like the second coming of DeAndre Hopkins, you better believe he’ll be moving up the receiver rankings on the next release of the Eagles depth chart.
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