Jalen Reagor – Page 45 – Syndication Server

Vikings ‘raise some eyebrows’ in latest CBS Sports mock draft

Alabama corner Trevon Diggs went to the Vikings in a recent CBS Sports mock draft. Uh…

It would not have been crazy to list Trevon Diggs going to the Vikings in a mock draft a few months ago.

But now, if you make a decision like that, you at least have to explain it, and that’s what CBS Sports did. Trevon is the little bother to Stefon, the former Vikings wide receiver who was eventually traded to the Bills for draft picks.

If Trevon is coming to the Vikings, hopefully the team knows that it won’t have the same issues with him as they did with his brother. Here’s what CBS Sports said about picking Trevon to go to Minnesota at No. 22:

“Let’s assume the Vikings are willing to make amends to the Diggs family after trading away Stefon, because they understand they need to replace Xavier Rhodes and can’t let personal feelings get in the way of winning football games. Stranger things have happened, and what’s a draft without a little drama, anyway?”

It could work, but Jeff Gladney and Jaylon Johnson are also both cornerback options who could get taken in the first round. With the 25th pick, Minnesota drafted TCU wideout Jalen Reagor in the CBS Sports mock draft.

Eagles 2020 NFL Draft preview: Devil’s advocate edition

The Eagles could go a variety of ways in the upcoming draft: here I play devil’s advocate for less popular options.

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During our last preview, we made the argument in support of the Philadelphia Eagles trading up to draft one of the big three wide receivers: CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III. A lot has changed since then.

For those following loosely the Eagles traded away the 85th and 166th picks in this year’s draft. This move, while greatly improving the secondary, leaves the Birds with only two picks in the top 100. Without the 85th pick in their back pocket, the price to move from 21 to the teens would likely cost the Eagles their second-rounder – something they should be unwilling to do.

All of that said, nothing changed the biggest need on the team: wide receiver. After the big three, who will surely be gone by 21, the next group has fallen into place with less than two weeks to draft day. Justin Jefferson from LSU is the consensus fourth-best receiver but from there the waters get murky. Denzel Mims from Baylor and Jalen Reagor from TCU project to be late first-round selections while Laviska Shenault from Colorado, Tee Higgins from Clemson, Brandon Aiyuk from Arizona State and KJ Hamler from Penn State have second-round grades.

With that information in hand, all Howie Roseman has to do is choose the best available wide receiver and send the pick in. If Jefferson’s there it’s him; if he’s not flip a coin for Mims or Reagor. Easy enough, right?

“Not so fast!” he says in his best Lee Corso voice.

The Eagles have two choices for pick 21, either trade back or draft a defensive player. Let’s start with the first option.

For reference, the Eagles traded the 32nd pick and the 132nd pick in the 2018 draft to the Ravens for the 52nd pick, 125th pick, and a 2019 second-rounder. At the 2019 draft, the Eagles made another move with the Ravens, this time moving up three spots from 25 to 22 to select Andre Dillard. That move cost the team a fourth and sixth-round pick.

With this knowledge, the Eagles should try to find a trade partner in the latter half of the first round, whether it’s the Packers, Ravens or Saints, that want to get to the early 20s. This trade back should net the Eagles another mid-round pick and a sixth or seventh, too.

Assuming the top four are off the board by the time the Eagles pick in the late 20s, I’d take a long hard look at the next best wide receiver. Is it the ultra-athletic, surprisingly speedy Denzel Mims? Or is it the electric playmaker from TCU, Jalen Reagor? Either of them would look good in midnight green.

Now, on to option No. 2. Let’s say the virtual draft goes absolutely bananas: Four wide receivers are off the board by the 15th pick and there’s no way the Eagles can get out of the 21st pick. I, for one, don’t want Mims or Reagor at 21 – that’s a bit of a reach in my opinion. If they’re the top two on the board by the time the Eagles are on the clock, I’m looking elsewhere – specifically at the defensive side of the ball.

Say one of Jeff Gladney or Kristian Fulton, cornerbacks from TCU and LSU respectively are available, The Eagles should think long and hard about taking one of the two. The two are first-round talents and would be better suited to play outside with Darius Slay than any cornerback on the roster. Sorry, Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox. With Slay and Gladney/Fulton the Eagles would have their best cornerback tandem since Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. From there, the Eagles should take the best receiver available in the second round whether it be Aiyuk, Higgins or Hamler.

A dark horse name for the Eagles is Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos. If you follow trends you know Howie loves taking lineman in the first round: Andre Dillard, Derek Barnett, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Danny Watkins, *shivers* Marcus Smith. You get the picture.

Jim Schwartz’s defense depends on a heavy pass rush and with more questions than answers on the edge position, taking an explosive athlete with a bunch of upside, with room to learn in year one, would be a great pick. Derek Barnett is largely unproven and entering the final year of his rookie contract, Brandon Graham is on the books for 17 million dollars in 2021 and outside of that, there isn’t a lot to write home about. Josh Sweat looked OK last season, Shareef Miller couldn’t buy playing time and Genard Avery was traded here and couldn’t get on the field – too many variables for my liking.

If the Eagles were to walk out of the first two rounds with Gross-Matos and Aiyuk – then Howie Roseman will have won the weekend. The hard part is hitting on picks in rounds three through seven, but that’s a story for another time.

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Jalen Reagor drops weight, runs better times at individual pro day

Jalen Reagor, a potential pick for the Packers at No. 30, dropped weight and crushed his timed drills at his individual pro day.

Jalen Reagor never looked like a 205-pound receiver with 4.47-second speed in the 40-yard dash during his years at TCU, so it was a moderate surprise when the explosive receiver showed up to the combine heavy and ran uninspiring times in the 40-yard dash and agility drills.

The Green Bay Packers likely took notice. They care about measured athleticism at the receiver position, especially in terms of agility. Reagor, a potential pick at No. 30 overall in the 2020 draft, suddenly didn’t fit the full profile.

Teams like the Packers will have to be careful because numbers coming out of pro days can be manipulated to the prospect’s advantage, but Reagor’s individual pro day filmed and sent out to teams sheds a more accurate light on the type of player he was at TCU.

Adam Schefter of ESPN revealed Reagor’s pro day video below:

An NFL team asked former TCU WR Jalen Reagor to do a pro day this week and film it. Here is the film that went out: pic.twitter.com/eTJ6sAqWLL

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2020

Reagor weighed in at 197 pounds, ran sub 4.3-second times in the 40-yard dash and greatly improved his numbers in both the short shuttle and three-cone.

Forget the 4.22 and 4.28. It doesn’t really matter if Reagor ran those specific times. What does matter is that he dropped weight and then put together an overall athletic testing profile that better matches what he put on tape.

It’s possible Reagor ran the 40-yard dash in the mid-4.3-second range and finished the three-cone in just under 7.0 seconds. Even those times would much better represent him as a player, and it would satisfy the Packers’ general athletic thresholds at the receiver position.

The TCU star is nothing if not explosive. He’s a burner in a straight line with rare late separation burst. He’s quick-twitch in short areas. He can really move. Now, teams like the Packers have testing numbers reflecting the attributes.

Reagor can consider the athleticism box checked. So can the Packers. Expect him to be a legitimate option for the Packers if he’s still available at No. 30 overall.

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2020 NFL Draft: 10 players the Eagles could target if they trade back

The Philadelphia Eagles now have eight picks in the 2020 NFL Draft after the team acquired Darius Slay via trade from the Lions.

The Eagles traded away pick No. 85 (3rd-round) and pick No. 166 (5th round) to the Lions, and that scenario could make things interesting.

Roseman had previously expressed comfort in the Eagles having 10 picks in the draft and with the Birds sitting at No. 21 in the first round, Philadelphia could choose to trade back and acquire more picks for the later rounds.

If the Eagles decide they don’t want to part with the assets required to land Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb or Henry Ruggs, Howie Roseman could stand pat at No. 21 for a player like Justin Jefferson or Denzel Mims.

Roseman could also decide to move back several picks, enabling the Eagles to secure a high-profile wide receiver and an extra second or third-round pick.

If the Eagles do decide to trade back, here are the 10-potential prospects they could target.

***

1. Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State

The Eagles love edge-rushers and Gross-Matos (6-5, 266 pounds) is an explosive and versatile defender who can play more than position and provide the spark that Derek Barnett needs while making that front even more devastating.

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Scouting breakdown: The 11 best receivers in the 2020 NFL draft

A star-studded crop of wide receivers look to crash the NFL. Where do CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and the rest stack up for the 2020 NFL Draft?

Every year, narratives emerge around the NFL Draft. Often, they can be position-related. For example, I’m old enough to remember when the 2017 quarterback class was considered fool’s gold, and that the 2018 quarterback group was the one to get excited for. Well, someone forgot to tell Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes that…

But sometimes the narratives are reasonable. Ask anyone about this year’s draft and the first thing that usually comes up is how talented and deep this wide receiver group is. That narrative is spot on. This is an incredibly talented group. Look at any “Top 50” list and count the number of wideouts. Of these next 11 prospects, you could make a case any of the first ten players to be a first-round selection. This group is just that good.

Now as a result, it can be hard to rank them. In some cases it might just come down to a matter of personal preference. There is almost no way to incorrectly rank these players, given just how talented they are. Furthermore, drop any of these prospects into a different draft class and whether they are at the top of this list or near the bottom, they are likely pushing for the top spot in another class.

Again, this group is that good.

In fact, it was tough limiting this list to just 11 players. Some who did not make this cut are also fantastic prospects, who could be drafted late on Day Two or even early on Day Three and be immediate contributors. If I wanted to, I could probably put together a list of 25 good-to-great prospects at the WR position from this draft class.

Now that I think about it, I could not.

(I don’t believe that, I just don’t want my editors to get any ideas…)

Editor’s Note: Eyes on the prize, bud.

On to the rankings.

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Touchdown Wire’s 2020 NFL Draft rankings: Top 25 offensive players

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow leads the way in this year’s draft class, followed by an abundance of impact wide receivers and linemen.

Touchdown Wire’s 2020 NFL Draft rankings: Top 25 offensive players

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow leads the way in this year’s draft class, followed by an abundance of impact wide receivers and linemen.

With the 2020 NFL Draft fast approaching, it is time to start finalizing draft boards. Not just for NFL teams, but for the team here at Touchdown Wire. Here is Touchdown Wire’s list of the top 25 offensive prospects in the 2020 draft class.

1. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

The list begins with the player expected to be the first pick off the board when the 2020 NFL Draft begins. Joe Burrow led LSU to a national championship last season and rewrote record books along the way. But the reasons he is the top offensive player — in addition to positional value — are the traits he brings to the table as a prospect.

Competitive toughness. Accuracy. Pocket management. Plus the ability to do all the little things that matter at the position, such as manipulating defenders with his eyes and throwing with anticipation. The Cincinnati Bengals are this close to finally having their quarterback … unless a team breaks the bank to trade up to the first spot.

2. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

In a talented and deep wide receiver class, the players clustered near the top might just be a matter of personal preference. Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III are all potential game-changers at WR. Lamb edges out the rest due to his combination of explosiveness, catch radius, route-running and ability after the catch. Some might knock him for a lack of elite speed, but with his route-running, ability after the catch and how he sets up defenders on his cuts and breaks, the little things he has mastered make up for the lack of 4.4 speed.

3. Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama

Football is a game of angles. Listen to Bill Belichick talk about angles in the blocking part of the game, and you will understand. That also matters for a wide receiver, how you set up and then break away from cornerbacks, how you exploit their leverage advantages, and how you attack their alignment off the line. Jeudy is a master at that part of playing wide receiver. He also brings great deep speed, elite hands and an ability to turn any play into a touchdown regardless of route. He was used predominantly as a slot receiver last season, but he has the short-area quickness and explosiveness to beat press when he transitions to the NFL.

4. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

Obviously the medical picture might cloud Tagovailoa’s outlook in the draft, but based on what he can do on the field, the Alabama passer has to be considered one of the top offensive players in the draft. He possesses a lightning-quick release with a compact throwing motion, drawing comparisons to Jimmy Garoppolo in that regard. He also has the athleticism to extend plays outside of the pocket and keep a defense honest with what he can do as a runner. Tagovailoa is an accurate passer in the short and intermediate areas of the field, ideal for most NFL offenses. There are things he needs to clean up, such as his vision in the post-snap phase of the play, but if the medicals check out, he is a solid prospect at the game’s most important position.

5. Jedrick Wills Jr., OT, Alabama

Similar to the wide receiver position, the offensive tackle group has great talent at the top, so ranking the “Big Four” tackles might come down to a matter of scheme fit or team needs. We can start with Wills, the Alabama right tackle who has been a mainstay on their offensive line the past two seasons. He gave up a single sack and just five quarterback hits during his career with the Crimson Tide. Wills is also a dominant player in the run game, and he has the power to handle gap/man assignments but also the footwork and agility to function well in a zone blocking scheme. What might hurt him in the eyes of some is that he has spent his career at right tackle, and teams looking for a LT might look at someone with more experience at that spot.

6. Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia

If an NFL team is looking for that “plug and play” starter at left tackle, Thomas is likely their man. He was a focal part of the Bulldogs’ offensive line for the past three seasons and made the switch to left tackle prior to the 2018 campaign. Last year, his second at LT, he gave up just one sack and eight quarterback hurries, and did not allow a single QB hit. Thomas is also a force in the ground game. The Georgia offense did give him help, running a lot of play-action, and he often worked with a tight end aligned around him, but his traits and execution translate well to the pro game.

7. Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama

“Speed kills.” “You can’t teach speed.” Whatever your favorite sports cliche about speed is, dust it off and bring it to your evaluation of Ruggs. The Alabama wideout has speed to burn and showed that both on film and at the Scouting Combine, where he posted a blazing 4.24 40-yard dash. Ruggs has more than just the jets in his toolkit; he is a solid route-runner, tracks the ball well in the vertical game and is unafraid to work over the middle. But when you have the potential to take a simple slant route to the house on any given snap, you’re going to be coveted in the NFL.

8. Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa

The Iowa product is another dominant force at right tackle. Wirfs turned heads at the combine when he posted a 4.85 40-yard dash after weighing in at 6-5 and 320 pounds. For reference, that is a faster 40-yard dash than quarterback Jake Fromm, who ran a 5.01 40. Wirfs is another plug-and-play type of offensive lineman, coming from an offense at Iowa that ran a variety of rushing concepts and tasked him with a lot from a pass protection standpoint. He also has the chance to play both right and left tackle, having seen 161 snaps at LT last season. With his athleticism and strength, Wirfs could be a mainstay at tackle for the next 10 years for the team that drafts him.

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Rookie Rundown: WR Jalen Reagor, TCU

Jalen Reagor Rookie Rundown

Jalen Reagor turned in back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in high school playing for one-time NFL quarterback Jon Kitna who was the head coach. He signed with TCU and saw action even as a freshman when he caught eight touchdowns, including one in TCU’s first-ever Big 12 Championship Game.

He became the primary receiver as a sophomore when his 72 catches more than doubled that of any other TCU receiver. He also added 170 yards as a rusher that included a 121-yard effort on five carries against Oklahoma State at the end of the year. He saw at least six touches in over half of his games and topped out with 11 receptions for 150 yards at West Virginia.

His production fell in 2019 when the Horned Frogs fell to only 5-7 and struggled on offense under a freshman quarterback. Reagor elected to declare for the NFL draft as a junior. He was limited to three or fewer catches in all but five games in 2019 and likely would not have gained anything by remaining.

Height: 5-11
Weight: 206 pounds
40 time: 4.47 seconds

Reagor also assumed return duties while at TCU. He averaged 20.8 yards over his 15 punt returns last year while scoring twice. He also returned five kickoffs.

Year	Games	Catch	Yards	Avg.	TD	Runs	Yards.	TD	Total Yards	Total TDs
2017	14	33	576	17.5	8	8	65	0	641	8
2018	13	72	1061	14.7	9	13	170	2	1231	11
2019	12	43	611	14.2	5	14	89	0	700	5

Pros

Plays like a running back when he has the ball
Accelerates quickly to gain separation
Effective at all three levels of the defense
A versatile weapon as a rusher or receiver
Good vision and creativity causes chunk plays
At his best bringing in contested throws
Vertical skills are superior, tracks and adjusts well
Big play threat
Burst at top of the route is a difference-maker

Cons

Sometimes lost focus and was frustrated
Needs improvement versus press coverage
Suffered the occasional drop
Needs more work on his route tree

Fantasy outlook

Even in 2018, Reagor played with three different quarterbacks while the Horned Frogs fell from 11-3 to only 7-6. Reagor was the best weapon of the offense and he felt the impact when they switched to a rookie quarterback last year. The offense around him just wasn’t as effective and 2018 is the season most representative of what he brings to the table.

Reagor projects as a slot receiver in the NFL. Like any receiver, his fortunes will be tied to the quality of his quarterback and he’s never played with an elite passer. Almost any NFL starter will be an upgrade for him though the defenses only get tougher.

He doesn’t possess the size of most possession receivers and yet is more than just a speedy deep threat. He can offer a solid role as a slot receiver and his overall potential really hasn’t been established yet due to the lack of talent around him in college.

With 148 career catches at TCU, Reagor has a lot of experience for a junior and he added 35 rushes as well. He’s likely to go in the second or third rounds and his first season should be a big adjustment for him. As a rookie, he’s likely to have a slower start but he’s worth a deep stash in a fantasy draft because he could surprise if he lands in the right system with a top quarterback.

Reagor’s returning skills are likely to be used as a rookie.

49ers go out of the box at WR in analytics mock draft

Two Jalens (or Jaylens) go to the 49ers in a 2020 NFL mock draft based on analytics at Pro Football Focus.

Different is intriguing with a glut of mock drafts surfacing in the lead up to the 2020 NFL draft. Most mocks have the same two or three players heading to San Francisco with the No. 13 pick, and perhaps a handful of different projections for the No. 31 slot. Pro Football Focus gave a big shakeup with their Analytics Mock Draft 2.0.

PFF devises the analytics mock based on two criteria: positional value and college-to-pro projections. Here’s how the analytics site explains each of those elements:

1. Positional value – Our goal isn’t to pick the eventual rookie of the year, it’s to win a Super Bowl. Saquon Barkley is awesome at his job, but his job doesn’t contribute to winning nearly as much as that of his quarterback. Players who impact the passing game have the most value, and that is reflected here.

2. Our college-to-pro projections – We take into account how each player grades in different situations in college and train algorithms to project performance into a set of NFL situations. We also take into account the prospect’s athletic profile with respect to each facet of play. Here is a more in-depth look at these projections for stud playmaker Isaiah Simmons from Clemson, for example.

Those two criteria lead to an intriguing mock. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, a popular mock choice for San Francisco, is gone to the Giants with the fourth pick. Ruggs’ college teammate Jerry Jeudy, another frequent 49ers mock selection, goes No. 6 to the Chargers, and CeeDee Lamb is off the board to the Jets at No. 11.

With the top three receivers off the board by No. 13, the 49ers threw a curveball in the analytics mock and selected TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor.

Reagor, 5-11, 206 pounds, is built almost identical to Deebo Samuel, but with a slightly different skill set. He never posted monster production for the Horned Frogs, racking up 148 catches, 2,248 yards and 22 touchdowns across three seasons. His best year was his sophomore campaign when he hauled in 72 balls for 1,061 yards and nine scores. He also rushed 13 times that year for 170 yards and two touchdowns.

While sliding a Samuel-like receiver in next to Samuel isn’t exactly what would most help the 49ers offense, PFF’s Eric Eager noted that Reagor compares analytically to Allen Robinson. That’s the type of player that would fit nicely in San Francisco’s receiving corps. Sprinkle in the versatility he showed during his sophomore season and the Reagor pick starts to track logically.

In reality, if the 49ers are all in on Reagor being their guy, they may be able to move back a few spots from 13 to acquire more draft capital in the middle rounds, and still select Reagor later in the first.

The 49ers’ additional first-round selection checks their need at cornerback. With the 31st pick, PFF sends Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson to Santa Clara.

Even though corner may not top their list of needs, the value of a deep secondary outweighs the value they may get from another position. That’s why Johnson, a 6-0, 193-pound Fresno, Calif. native, is the selection.

The raw numbers are strong with seven interceptions and 27 pass breakups across three seasons with the Utes, but PFF’s George Chahrouri has the money stat. Johnson allowed a passer rating of just 57.9 on balls thrown his way in college.

Another big, physical corner with strong ball skills would fit seamlessly into the 49ers’ secondary. He’d push for a starting job right away, and would be in line to supplant Richard Sherman if he doesn’t re-sign with San Francisco after this season.

How the 49ers choose to operate in the 2020 draft will set the table for their next five or so years. What positions they pick matter less than those selections actually contributing in the near future. For now, a wide receiver and a corner early in the draft make sense.

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Could Bucs actually draft a receiver in the second round of the NFL draft?

Matt Bowen of ESPN believes this collegiate receiver would be a perfect fit in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense ranked tied for third in scoring last season, averaging 28.6 points per game. It’s a big achievement when you consider their quarterback Jameis Winston threw 30 interceptions, becoming the first player ever to throw at least 30 touchdowns and 30 picks in the same season.

With Tom Brady now the man in charge of the Bucs offense, expectations are sky-high next year for Bruce Arians’ squad. And with the NFL draft fast approaching, the Bucs could look to shore up the offensive line by taking a tackle with the 14th pick to help protect Brady. In round two, they could look for either a running back or safety, but Matt Bowen of ESPN believes the Bucs could get the perfect wide receiver with the 45th pick.

Bowen’s latest article looks at the perfect landing spots for some of the draft’s top wide receivers, and even though the Bucs seem set at the position, Bowen likes the idea of Jalen Reagor, a 5-foot-11 receiver out of TCU, playing the role of slot playmaker.

Per Bowen:

“Reagor is dynamic with the ball in his hands, and he has the athletic traits to burst out of his cuts. He could develop as an inside target for Brady on shallows, option routes and slants. If Tampa Bay wants to win now with its 43-year-old quarterback, it needs to put the best talent around him, even if that means adding to a stacked receiver room. And there will be enough targets to go around for everyone, including tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.”

With other pressing needs, it’s hard to imagine the Bucs going for a receiver in the early rounds. They drafted Scotty Miller last year and re-signed Bryant Mitchell at the start of free agency. Reagor will certainly find himself playing on Sundays next season. It just might not be in Tampa Bay.

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