Around a year ago, longtime voice of the Philadelphia Eagles Merrill Reese opined about the best wide receiver trio in the history of the organization. He went with a somewhat recent group of three pass-catchers, reminding everyone just how much fun it can be to root for a football team when there are capable playmakers around the quarterback.
That hasn't been the case in recent years — more recent than when a young Jackson, Maclin and Avant were helping Michael Vick lead an explosive offense in the early 2010s — and recent draft picks have gone to show that it's an area the front office has wanted to address. But while past picks haven't exactly led to a frenzy of excitement, the 2021 NFL Draft led to a different result. DeVonta Smith... now that's a wideout who the fans should be pumped for. And though Reese isn't making any claims as to where this group will rank historically, he's optimistic about how the young group will perform.
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"They gave a gift to every Eagles fan in the city," Reese said on the "Birds 365" podcast. "[DeVonta Smith is] an electric player who will light it up, and he's a good kid. He's a nice, humble, quiet young man. He's never gonna give them a bit of trouble, and he's a gift to the city."
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Will his addition be enough to strengthen a corps that Pro Football Focus said was "arguably... the worst offensive skill position group in the league" entering the draft? Will Smith and co. be enough to provide Jalen Hurts with a legitimate cast of characters in his quest to prove that he's worthy of a starting job?
"Oh, yeah. Listen, we all know that Justin Jefferson was the man last year, so there was disappointment over (Jalen) Reagor," Reese began. "But Reagor — a healthy Jalen Reagor — is not chopped liver. A healthy Jalen Reagor is still a dangerous wide receiver.
"And with Reagor on one side, and with Smith as the X-receiver... and I'm a guy that loves Greg Ward because he's very, very dependable in the slot. Then you have Travis Fulgham, you have Quez Watkins who showed a spark, and John Hightower who's an ascending player. I think they have a deep and exciting wide receiver room."
There's reason to be hopeful, as is the case with Reese, in this corps. Reagor was certainly underwhelming, but intertwined with injury issues and an anemic offense, he showed flashes. Ward has more games of at four or more receptions in his young career than he does games of fewer than four catches. Watkins and Hurts hooked up on a handful of deep balls once the starting QB role shifted into the hands of the Alabama/Oklahoma product. Fulgham, despite practically vanishing for the last half of the season, put together a remarkable five-game stretch in which he recorded 435 yards and four touchdowns. Hightower had two 50-plus-yard receptions in his rookie season. And we're not even talking about Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert — and, for now, Zach Ertz — both of whom have proven their prowess in the pass-catching game.
Smith, however, is clearly the main draw here, and Reese couldn't be more pleased that he's in town.
"I watch a lot of college football, and I remember watching DeVonta Smith and thinking, 'boy, wouldn't it be great if the Eagles somehow end up with this guy?'" Reese said. "He is really special, but then once they traded out of the sixth spot, I thought it was very, very remote that he would be there at 12. But I did figure, going into the draft, that they would have a shot at either (Jaylen) Waddle or Smith, (Patrick) Surtain or (Jaycee) Horn, and I think they got the right one."
In a season without over-the-top expectations, this might be a fun and surprising group that's ready to make waves, and Reese's voice will hopefully share the stories of a 2021 that's much more entertaining than 2020.
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