8. Jalen Reagor, TCU
Height: 5’11″ Weight: 206
40-Yard Dash: 4.47 seconds
Bench Press: 17 reps
Vertical Jump: 42 inches
Broad Jump: 11 feet 6 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.31 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.46 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Jalen Reagor was a track and football star in high school, graded as a four-star recruit coming out of Waxahachie High School in Texas. He originally committed to Oklahoma, but flipped after taking a visit to TCU. Reagor could have enrolled early at TCU, but stayed in high school to finish his senior track season. He might be glad he did, as he posted a 24’5″ long jump to win gold at the Texas University Interscholastic Track League track meet in May of 2017.
Reagor was an immediate contributor at TCU. As a true freshman he caught 33 passes for 576 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 17.5 yards per reception. His sophomore year was his best in college, as he posted 71 receptions on 131 targets for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which would be career-high marks. Last season saw his production drop precipitously, as he caught just 43 passes for 611 yards and five touchdowns. A good deal of that, however, can be attributed to poor quarterback play. Pro Football Focus charted TCU passers with accurate throws on just 30.7% of Reagor’s targets in 2019.
Stat to Know: Over the past two seasons — and over the past 219 targets — Reagor had just 11 dropped passes.
Strengths: We often focus on the scheme fit when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks for the draft. But that should also be a consideration when studying wide receivers. Teams running more of a West Coast offense would be wise to pay particular attention to Reagon. He has great footwork at the line of scrimmage and quick feet on routes in the short- and intermediate-areas of the field, making him perhaps an ideal fit for a West Coast scheme. Reagor aligned almost exclusively along the right sideline, meaning he faced press coverage enough to get a sense of how he will make the transition to the league. He relies on a hesitation/stutter-step move to beat the press with his quick feet, and it has worked consistently for him at the college game. He shows great burst after the catch, and can be deadly on crossers and slants. West Coast offenses are built around yardage after the catch, and Reagor definitely checks that box.
Despite a profile that projects best to a West Coast offense, Reagor can also be dangerous in the vertical passing game. On this play against Texas he runs a double-move route against a Tampa 2 defense, and with solid quarterback play this should have been a huge gain for the Horned Frogs:
The Longhorns drop their middle of the field defender into a huge cushion, well off the line of scrimmage. Reagor shows that defender a route in front of him, and gets the player to squat on the potential shorter route. Then you see that explosive burst from the WR, getting over the top of that defender and erasing that huge pre-snap cushion.
You also see an example of how poor quarterback play limited his opportunities.
As Reagor’s results from the Combine indicate, he is an explosive athlete with elite change-of-direction and quickness. Both his broad jump and his vertical leap were in the upper echelon of prospects, and his 40-yard dash of 4.47, while actually disappointing in a sense given what he showed on film and in other tests, is plenty fast enough for the next level, at all areas of the field.
Weaknesses: While he had just the 11 drops over the past two seasons, there are moments on film when you see mistakes either due to a lack of concentration or focus. He had a drop on a wide-open out pattern early in TCU’s game against Oklahoma that was a good throw that he let slip right through his hands. His overall body of work is impressive in this area, but it is something to mention.
While he consistently worked against press and was able to win at the line of scrimmage with his hesitation/stutter-step move, NFL cornerbacks will figure that out eventually. He’ll need to develop a few more releases to switch up his approach, otherwise he’ll become a one-note wonder against tight coverage.
Something else to watch is the lack of production in the short- and intermediate-areas of the field last season. Again, this could be impacted by the quarterback play for TCU, but on throws of 0-9 yards last season Reagor had just 15 receptions (on 24 targets) and a passer rating when targeted of 61.1. Furthermore, his PFF grade on those throws was just 66.5, which tied him for 165th in FBS last season. (With the usual caveats about grading being more of a subjective exercise of course). On throws of 10-19 yards downfield, the numbers were not much better. Reagor had just eight receptions on 25 targets, for a passer rating of just 43.3 when targeted and a PFF grade of just 62.1. Considering that the bulk of NFL offenses are run in these areas of the field, it is worth mentioning. Again, part of that is due to the QB play, but those grades are worrisome.
Conclusion: The team that drafts him will likely look to his 2018 film, when he was a dominant player, and be calmed by what he showed as a sophomore. Reagor was in many respects the same player last season, but the production dropoff, coupled with some of his drops, creates something to consider. But for teams that run more of a West Coast offense, Reagor is perhaps an ideal target, either at the the back of the first round or sometime early on Day Two.
Comparison: Reagor is similar in play style to Nelson Agholor, when he was coming out of USC. Fans of the team that drafts him will hope his issues at the catch point do not continue into the league, like Agholor endured last season.
Lamb | Jeudy | Ruggs III | Shenault | Jefferson | Higgins | Mims | Reagor | Aiyuk | Pittman | Johnson