Today, the Philadelphia Eagles have one of the most threatening 1-2 wide receiver duos in the NFL in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but Executive Vice President and General Manager Howie Roseman has assembled this core despite multiple mis-drafts at the wideout position in recent years. Having missed out on some of the best in the game at the position, we’re only left to wonder what could have been if the Eagles draft success extended just two or even three years earlier.
Wide Receiver Scouting Problems in Philly
2019 – Arcega-Whiteside over Metcalf, McLaurin, Johnson, Renfrow, Slayton and more.
At the time the JJ Arcega-Whiteside pick seemed like a name jumbled amongst a ton of receivers going simultaneously, with big names being taken off the board before him. The WR prospect list was not only deep, but incredibly talented in 2019. With Marquise Brown going to the Baltimore Ravens at 25, the race to snatch up receivers had officially begun.
- (25) Marquise Brown – Baltimore Ravens
- (32) N’Keale Harry – New England Patriots
- (36) Deebo Samuel – San Fransisco 49ers
- (51) A.J. Brown – Tennessee Titans
- (56) Mecole Hardman – Kansas City Chiefs
If you were wondering what kind of wide receiver names were still on the board at the point of the 57th pick selection belonging to the Eagles, here they are: D.K. Metcalf, Diontae Johnson, Terry McLaurin, Hunter Renfrow, Darius Slayton and more.
- (57) JJ Arcega-Whiteside – Philadelphia Eagles
- (59) Parris Campbell – Indianapolis Colts
- (62) Andy Isabella – Arizona Cardinals
- (64) D.K. Metcalf – Seattle Seahawks
- (66) Diontae Johnson – Pittsburgh Steelers
- (67) Jalen Hurd – San Fransisco 49ers
- (76) Terry McLaurin – Washington Commanders
37 players in the ’19 draft currently have more career receiving yards than JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and 26 were selected after him. Here’s the list:
Red – Drafted before JJ Arcega-Whiteside
| Name | Pick | Pos. | Rec. Yds | Rec. | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Brown | 51 | WR | 4599 | 284 | 35 |
| Terry McLaurin | 76 | WR | 4366 | 306 | 22 |
| D.K. Metcalf | 64 | WR | 4340 | 315 | 36 |
| Diontae Johnson | 66 | WR | 3694 | 343 | 20 |
| Deebo Samuel | 36 | WR | 3348 | 234 | 12 |
| Marquise Brown | 25 | WR | 3152 | 271 | 25 |
| T.J. Hockenson | 8 | TE | 2688 | 261 | 20 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 149 | WR | 2652 | 245 | 17 |
| Darius Slayton | 171 | WR | 2631 | 176 | 15 |
| Noah Fant | 20 | TE | 2447 | 224 | 14 |
| Mecole Hardman | 56 | WR | 2094 | 152 | 16 |
| Dawson Knox | 96 | TE | 1815 | 155 | 21 |
| David Montgomery | 73 | RB | 1247 | 156 | 4 |
| Josh Jacobs | 24 | RB | 1226 | 167 | 0 |
| Foster Moreau | 137 | TE | 1107 | 91 | 12 |
| Tony Pollard | 128 | RB | 1057 | 130 | 5 |
| Parris Campbell | 59 | WR | 1006 | 102 | 5 |
| Davin Singletary | 74 | RB | 981 | 146 | 4 |
| Miles Sanders | 53 | RB | 968 | 128 | 3 |
| Scott Miller | 208 | WR | 924 | 74 | 4 |
| Irv Smith Jr. | 50 | TE | 885 | 96 | 9 |
| N’Keale Harry | 32 | WR | 714 | 64 | 5 |
| Myles Gaskin | 234 | RB | 701 | 101 | 6 |
| Ty Johnson | 186 | RB | 668 | 86 | 3 |
| Alexander Mattison | 102 | RB | 547 | 76 | 4 |
| Travis Fulgham | 184 | WR | 539 | 38 | 4 |
| Olabisi Johnson | 247 | WR | 483 | 45 | 3 |
| Miles Boykin | 93 | WR | 481 | 35 | 7 |
| Darrell Henderson | 70 | RB | 474 | 66 | 4 |
| Travis Homer | 204 | RB | 464 | 52 | 2 |
| Drew Sample | 52 | TE | 458 | 58 | 1 |
| Andy Isabella | 62 | WR | 447 | 33 | 3 |
| Kaden Smith | 176 | TE | 413 | 52 | 3 |
| Kelvin Harmon | 206 | WR | 365 | 30 | 0 |
| KeeSean Johnson | 174 | WR | 360 | 36 | 1 |
| Zach Gentry | 141 | TE | 303 | 39 | 0 |
| Damien Harris | 87 | RB | 297 | 42 | 0 |
| JJ Arcega-Whiteside | 57 | WR | 290 | 16 | 1 |
Safe to say the Birds would have appreciated a better turnout from their selection, as they were still looking for young replacements for the recently departed Golden Tate, as well as the aging Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson.
Although Howie ended up fleecing the Titans for A.J. Brown in arguably the most lopsided trade in recent memory, imagine D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson, Hunter Renfrow, or Darius Slayton showing up to Eagles camp instead of JJ. Their WR depth chart could have looked like:
WR1 – Alshon Jefferey
WR2 – Nelson Agholor
WR3 – JJ Arcega-Whiteside D.K. Metcalf/Terry McLaurin/Diontae Johnson/Hunter Renfrow/Darius Slayton
WR4 – Greg Ward
2020 – Reagor over Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins, Pittman Jr., Gabe Davis, Van Jefferson etc.
If you thought the 2019 draft was going to hurt for the Eagles longterm, just wait until you see how close they really were to assembling an all-time receiving core from the ’20 draft, even after missing out on so many studs the year prior.
Luckily for Philly the new year brought another stacked class of wide receivers, but this year the Birds weren’t going to wait. They were prepared to use their 1st selection to secure a receiver of the future.
- (12) Henry Ruggs III – Las Vegas Raiders
- (15) Jerry Jeudy – Denver Broncos
- (17) CeeDee Lamb – Dallas Cowboys
With the Eagles on the clock at 21 and desperately needing a WR, they had the opportunity to draft today’s best receiver in the NFL Justin Jefferson, or even a highly dependable 2nd receiver such as Tee Higgins, Gabe Davis, or Michael Pittman Jr..
- (21) Jalen Reagor – Philadelphia Eagles
- (22) Justin Jefferson – Minnesota Vikings
- (25) Brandon Aiyuk – San Fransisco 49ers
- (33) Tee Higgins – Cincinnati Bengals
- (34) Michael Pittman Jr. – Indianapolis Colts
For Jalen Reagor, 20 players from his draft class currently have more receiving yards and 17 were selected after him, including –as previously mentioned– the current best receiver in the NFL, Justin Jefferson, who was selected with the very next pick by the Minnesota Vikings. Here’s how Reagor has stacked up compared to those 20 guys.
Red – Drafted before Jalen Reagor
| Name | Pick | Pos. | Rec. Yds | Rec. | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Jefferson | 22 | WR | 5134 | 344 | 25 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 17 | WR | 3616 | 275 | 20 |
| Tee Higgins | 33 | WR | 3117 | 223 | 21 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 25 | WR | 2761 | 205 | 20 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | 34 | WR | 2663 | 243 | 12 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 15 | WR | 2320 | 160 | 9 |
| Darnell Mooney | 173 | WR | 2232 | 186 | 11 |
| Chase Claypool | 49 | WR | 2220 | 170 | 13 |
| Gabe Davis | 128 | WR | 2108 | 126 | 21 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 187 | WR | 1752 | 110 | 8 |
| Laviska Shenault Jr. | 42 | WR | 1507 | 150 | 6 |
| Cole Kmet | 43 | TE | 1481 | 147 | 9 |
| Van Jefferson | 57 | WR | 1424 | 98 | 10 |
| K.J. Osborn | 176 | WR | 1370 | 116 | 13 |
| D’Andre Swift | 35 | RB | 1204 | 160 | 7 |
| Quez Watkins | 200 | WR | 1124 | 85 | 5 |
| Antonio Gibson | 66 | RB | 948 | 128 | 5 |
| Henry Ruggs III | 12 | WR | 921 | 50 | 4 |
| Devin Duvernay | 92 | WR | 880 | 90 | 5 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 41 | RB | 802 | 104 | 3 |
| Jalen Reagor | 21 | WR | 799 | 72 | 4 |
The obvious miss in this draft was Justin Jefferson. JJettas is already 33rd in the NFL in career receiving yards and he’s only played 3 years. Each year since his arrival in the NFL he has had an increased workload and has improved with his usage. At just 24-years-old now it’s difficult to fathom the sort of damage he would be able to do alongside Jalen Hurts and his current receiver core of Smith and Brown.
But even without using the 21st pick on Jefferson, say they picked Higgins, Aiyuk, or Pittman Jr. and how impactful that could have been, especially considering injuries to Alshon Jeffrey, Quez Watkins and DeSean Jackson had all of them missing time. With all of the injuries, the Birds ended up with a depth chart of:
WR1 – Greg Ward
WR2 – Travis Fulgham
WR3 – Jalen Reagor
Depth – John Hightower, JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Injuries – Alshon Jeffrey, Quez Watkins, DeSean Jackson
Which if drafted correctly over the last two seasons could have looked like this:
WR1 – Justin Jefferson
WR2 – D.K. Metcalf/Terry McLaurin/Diontae Johnson/Hunter Renfrow/Darius Slayton
WR3 – Greg Ward
Depth – Travis Fulgham, John Hightower, JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Injuries – Alshon Jeffrey, Quez Watkins, DeSean Jackson
That young core is ridiculous, not to mention this is when they drafted Jalen Hurts in the 2nd round with the 53rd pick.
2021 – Added DeVonta Smith to the Mix
Now this is where the hypothetical becomes, precisely that, a hypothetical. But, it still makes sense as the 2020 Eagles ended up tanking for the 6th overall pick, their highest since trading up to 2 in the 2016 draft to select Carson Wentz. In 2021 they did the opposite, trading down to 12 with the Dolphins in exchange for the 12th overall pick, the 123th overall pick (fourth-rounder) and a 2022 1st rounder.
The Eagles went on to trade up to the 10 with the Cowboys to select DeVonta Smith. –Relevant side note: the 12 pick turned into Micah Parsons.– The next receiver after Smith wasn’t selected until 20 which was Kadarius Toney to the New York Giants.
That leaves enough room to believe the Birds could have still selected the 2020 Heisman winner with a slightly lower pick, or traded up for him regardless, after seeing him drop significantly below Waddle and Chase the same way they did. That would leave the Eagles alternate universe hypothetical wide receiver core as such:
WR1 – DeVonta Smith Justin Jefferson
WR2 – Quez Watkins DeVonta Smith
WR3 – Jalen Reagor D.K. Metcalf/Terry McLaurin/Diontae Johnson/Hunter Renfrow/Darius Slayton
Depth – Quez Watkins, Greg Ward
I mean, that trio of Justin Jefferson, DeVonta Smith and you name the 3rd from that 2019 draft pick that was used on JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Unstoppable and unfair.
2022 – Traded for A.J. Brown & Started Drafting Bulldawgs
On draft day in 2022 the Eagles sent their 1st round pick (18th overall), which was wide receiver Treylon Burkes and their 3rd round pick (101 overall), which was tight end Jeremy Ruckert, for A.J. Brown who was coming off a season where he missed 4 games but showed signs of pure dominance as a WR1. With the completion of that trade, that leaves the Philadelphia Eagles’ hypothetical/formerly potential better draft result wide receiver core as such:
WR1 – Justin Jefferson
WR2 – A.J. Brown
WR3 – DeVonta Smith
Depth – D.K. Metcalf/Terry McLaurin/Diontae Johnson/Hunter Renfrow/Darius Slayton, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal
Not just 4 WR1s, but 4 of the best receivers in the National Football League could have all been in Philly running routes for Jalen Hurts. Add TE Dallas Goedert and RB Miles Sanders to the mix and who knows you might have the best offense in NFL history.
2023
The Eagles used the 2023 Draft to continue loading up on national champions aka Georgia Dawgs, as well as solidifying the defence. A draft that at the moment seems like a complete and utter success, having Jalen Carter drop all the way to the 9th pick. Then being able to select his Georgia teammate and outside linebacker later in the 1st round, Nolan Smith. The Birds also used their 4th rounder on another Georgia defender, defensive back, Kelee Ringo.
They added the ’23 class of Eagles-Bulldogs to an already settled in ’22 class including defensive tackle, Jordan Davis, and linebacker Nakobe Dean, who were selected with the 13th pick in the 1st round and the 83rd pick in the 4th round, respectively.
Despite completely misjudging two significant drafts at their most needed position, the Eagles have managed to recuperate and reclassify themselves as being one of the best teams in the NFL once again, making but losing the Super Bowl in 2023, but looking to make the next leap this year, regaining World champ status for the first time since 2017.
(Photo via @Vikings on twitter)