The Eagles have added an impact receiver during each of the last two NFL Drafts – one via selection, one via trade – and it has paid off, at least on paper.
Pro Football Focus released their annual ranking of wide receiver groups this week, and the Birds clocked in fourth, behind only the Bengals, Buccaneers, and Dolphins.
In their write-up, PFF noted that draft night acquisition A.J. Brown is “a legit No. 1 option who changes everything for Philadelphia’s receiving corps,” and Brown, 2021 first-rounder DeVonta Smith, and “one of the more underrated tight ends in the league” in Dallas Goedert form “a nice core, with players like Quez Watkins and the thus-far disappointing Jalen Reagor adding some speed behind them on the depth chart."
The Eagles also added even more speed this offseason by signing two-time Olympic hurdler Devon Allen, and also signed Zach Pascal from Indianapolis to add to that group plus holdovers Quez Watkins and Greg Ward.
PFF had the Birds as one of six teams in the “elite” category, with the three ahead of them, the Raiders, and 49ers. Hard to argue the top three, as Cincinnati and Tampa Bay each had two receivers top 1,000 yards last season, while the Dolphins jump up like the Birds on the strength of a trade acquisition, adding Tyreek Hill to second-year man Jaylen Waddle (who also topped 1K as a rookie).
Las Vegas added Davante Adams this offseason to go with Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller, while the Niners are spurred by another top TE in George Kittle as well as Swiss Army Knife Deebo Samuel, who was fifth in the league in receiving yards in 2021 despite also being utilized in the running game quite a bit.
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Still, even though they rank fourth, the Birds’ receivers could be a dangerous group in 2022 – especially if what Goedert said earlier this week he has already seen in Jalen Hurts continues to blossom.
“Jalen looks really good,” Goedert said earlier this week during minicamp. “Just him going through his reads, his progressions, I feel like the ball’s got a little more zip on it, he’s getting it out a little bit quicker, you see kind of a 1-2-3 throw. He doesn’t have as many hitches, he’s seeing the game faster, which is really promising.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN