PHILADELPHIA — Editor's note: The above video is from Aug. 8.
After three years of pushback with fans and media members, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor has finally taken responsibility for how poorly his NFL career has begun.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the 2020 first-round pick acknowledged for the first time publicly what his current reality truly is.
“This is a humbling experience, you go from a first-round pick to battling,” Reagor said. “Some people have a job and some don’t.”
Reagor knows there is no denying the vastly different situation he is in heading into Year 3 compared to his first two seasons.
Coming out of TCU in 2020, the Eagles expected Reagor to be the future top receving option: the face of a younger, faster offense that would finally provide former franchise quarterback Carson Wentz a consistent, long term deep threat that the team believed he needed.
Philadelphia passed up on what are now very good pass catchers. like Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins, and Brandon Aiyuk. to select Reagor.
Oh, how fast things can change in the NFL.
Just two years later, Reagor has only 64 receptions, 695 yards, and 3 touchdowns to show for it, and finds himself buried on the Eagles' depth chart.
Philadelphia’s front office made sure this year they wouldn’t need to rely on Reagor. Even after drafting DeVonta Smith in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Reagor still found himself with a role as a starter that played the majority of snaps last season.
That won’t be the case again now that top option A.J. Brown has joined the mix, along with the signing of Zach Pascal, and emergence of speed threat Quez Watkins.
Reagor might not even find himself as a top returner or rotational piece if Britain Covey or other depth pieces continue to emerge.
All Reagor can realistically do is secure a backup job, and pitch why a new team should trade for him.
He may have told the media on Wednesday that he wants to finish his career with the Eagles, but Reagor’s only realistic chance at fully reviving his career in a Nelson Agholor-like fashion would be by getting an easier path to starting elsewhere.
The Eagles won’t cut Reagor and eat $8 million, but they’ve done everything else to show they are done giving him chances to be a core piece.
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The Denver Broncos were rumored to be interested in trading for Reagor. So too were the Baltimore Ravens during the draft process. Maybe a receiver-needy team like the Chicago Bears could also come calling.
Taking a mature, humble approach to his situation surely sat well with the Eagles and other teams, but Reagor needs to walk the walk too, specifically in the preseason.
The TCU product has actually stood out and made plays all three years during training camp, but when it came time for any real game action, Reagor has disappeared.
Even in the preseason, Reagor has made little to no eye-popping plays.
No plays in the receiving game. Not in the return game. Nothing.
Preseason performance isn’t gospel, but you’d hope a former first round pick would at least flash in easier situations against vanilla defenses (and maybe even backups). Watkins certainly did last year before a breakout season.
Maybe the now or never type of situation Reagor finds himself in has finally woken him up. Maybe his effort and urgency on each play will finally improve. Maybe it won’t matter and he simply doesn’t have what it takes.
Reagor is a player who is talking like he understands what needs to be done, but talking about it is one thing. Doing it is what truly matters.