Larry Henry Jr
Jalen Reagor will admit his years with the Philadelphia Eagles hasn’t gone as planned and the third-year wide receiver now heads into an important time of his career after a disappointing 2021 campaign.
Reagor has struggled for consistency in the National Football League, totaling only 695 yards and three touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Eagles, failing to live up to high expectations from fans and media alike. The former TCU product and 2020 first-round pick appeared sparingly throughout OTAs this spring at the NovaCare Complex, but will have plenty of questions to answer later this year with the Eagles aiming high in the NFC this season.
Although Reagor hasn’t risen into a star for the Eagles offense, his role in Nick Sirianni’s unit will be important as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith headline the top two wide receiver positions this fall. Reagor is still young compared to many other wideout in the league and has the backing of Sirianni to make the most of his opportunities in 2022.
“He had great attendance through this, and just so happened the times that you guys were here he wasn’t,” Sirianni said when asked about Reagor’s recent absence from OTAs.
“But he had great attendance through this and was really into it, and there’s no denying that Jalen has talent. He just has to continue to try to be consistent. That was our discussion. I told you guys this, the discussion that I’ve had with every player — we have a discussion with every player at the end of the year of what we need to do better, what we did well, and Jalen, one of the things that we talked about was well, okay, you’re not at TCU where you get 11 balls thrown to you a game. You might get three or you might get two; take advantage of the ones that you get and just be consistent with it. And that’s what we’re working on right now, because there’s no doubt that he has talent, and we are excited to work with him again.”
Reagor’s numbers dropped in 2021, totaling only 17.6 yards per game and only 9.1 yards per catch, less than three yards per reception than his rookie season in 2020. Jalen Hurts relied on then-rookie Smith in 2021 and also delivered to other players including tight end Dallas Goedert, and fellow wide receiver Greg Ward.
Now with A.J. Brown coming into the mix from Tennessee, Reagor might have a new role in the slot for the Eagles offense, opening up opportunities to shine against nickel backs. It’s still early into the new preparation schedule for the Eagles, but if Reagor is unable to take a major step forward in the Eagles offense, he could find himself with a new team ahead of the 2023 regular season.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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