If we turn the clock back to 2009, we'll find that the Philadelphia Eagles had an up-and-coming group of young wide receivers, two of whom were selected with relatively early draft picks to lead the position for years to come. Their names were DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, and you'd be hard-pressed to find too many fans who don't look back on their respective Eagles careers with fondness. Jackson is one of the greatest deep threats in league history, earning three Pro Bowl nods in his first six-year stint in Philly from 2008 to 2013. Maclin was a rookie in the 2009 season, the 19th overall pick in that year's draft, and is still the most recent Eagles wide receiver with a 1,000-yard season, doing so in 2014.
Now, fast forward to the current iteration of the Eagles squad and you'll see that there are two receivers drafted with relatively early picks in back-to-back seasons. Maclin, seeing as he's gone through that exact situation before for this very team, is a pretty good source of information on the subject. His take? It's a great group, and the most important thing we can do is not rush their development.
"I think a lot of those guys got a lot of promise, a lot of talent," Maclin said on the "Eagles Unfiltered" podcast, embedded above or available on Audacy here. "I think DeVonta (Smith) is a very, very good route runner. I think he catches the ball really well. I think (Jalen) Reagor's very good after the catch, I think he's a strong body, I think he can do some things with the ball in his hands. I think Quez (Watkins) is a guy you can get downfield and do some things with — reverses, fast screens. So I think they all are able to get downfield, but they all do things differently as well.
"The big thing is, you've got to let these guys grow. You've got to let them grow and just understand that letting them grow — and letting them grow into themselves — is going to be beneficial not only for them, but for the team as well. I think everybody gets caught up in the win-now mode and everything... the hardest thing is to expect guys to come in and put up these crazy numbers when the average fan doesn't even know what type of system is in place or how balls are distributed or what's going on."
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DeVonta Smith has impressed to this point in his rookie season, with a trajectory that puts him on pace for 1,000 yards despite some duds in Weeks 2 and 3. Watkins was just named a top-five deep threat in the league by NFL.com, and that big-play ability has helped him to experience something of a breakout in the early goings of 2021. It's Reagor, then, who comes under the most scrutiny, especially after he failed to perform up to par with fellow WRs of the 2020 draft class. He'll likely be remembered as the receiver taken right before Justin Jefferson, who went on to make the Pro Bowl and record 1,400 yards as a rookie, but Maclin wants us to know that this is an unfair comparison to make, even if it's the obvious one.
"It's easy to compare Reagor and Jefferson, right? It's easy to say Jefferson's doing this and Reagor's not doing that," Maclin said. "Well, Jefferson got drafted to be a starting receiver in a passing offense where Kirk Cousins is going to sling the ball around, to where you've got Thielen on the other side. That's the situation he got drafted into.
"And Reagor got drafted into one where Doug spread the ball around, right? He's going to spread the ball around, he's going to utilize his tight ends, he's going to utilize his running backs in the passing game... and I don't think people take that into consideration. They just look at the final stats and say, 'Oh, well Reagor's a bust and Jefferson's the greatest thing since sliced bread.'
"I think Jefferson's a great receiver, but you've got to give Reagor a chance to grow into what he can be. And I think he can be a really, really good player."
The wide receivers have a chance to impress in Week 5 against the Panthers, as Jaycee Horn remains injured and new acquisition Stephon Gilmore is not yet off the PUP list. And the wide receivers will need to impress if the Eagles want to shock the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 6, when the Bucs come to town on Thursday night.
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