Tag: Justin Jefferson

Eagles GM Howie Roseman on the need to add speed; Jalen Reagor’s fit with Carson Wentz

Howie Roseman says he drafted Jalen Reagor to add speed to the Philadelphia Eagles offense.

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The Philadelphia Eagles focused on adding speed and on Thursday night the Birds bypassed bigger named players to land a speedy wide receiver in the first round.

Howie Roseman had reportedly coveted Jalen Reagor and on Thursday at pick No. 21, Roseman finally got Carson Wentz a guy to take the top off the defense.

Roseman passed on trading up for a falling CeeDee Lamb, then passed on LSU star Justin Jefferson to snag Reagor at No. 21.

While addressing the media after making his picks, Roseman stuck to the script, harping on Reagor’s speed and the need to get Carson Wentz a true deep threat.

“Our QB likes to throw the ball down the field and make vertical throws.”

“Jalen tested super explosive. You see the explosiveness on tape and you had it in the testing”

Roseman then added more.

Reagor excels while making contested catches and will provide the Eagles with explosiveness that’s been missing on the roster.

Vikings’ Cris Carter, Adam Thielen and Tommy Kramer approve of Vikings first pick 

Former Vikings Cris Carter and Tommy Kramer, and current Minnesota player Adam Thielen, are all on board with the Justin Jefferson pick.

After Minnesota traded away Stefon Diggs to the Bills this offseason, the Vikings were left with a big hole at the wide receiver position.

With the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Vikings looked to fill that hole by drafting LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson. 

Jefferson is coming off a season where he won a National Championship. He helped the No. 1 overall pick, Joe Burrow, find success with the Tigers. The Vikings took a great route runner with stellar hands, who should help replace a lot of the production Diggs left behind.

Both current and former Vikings players took to Twitter, addressing the addition of Jefferson and it seems as if they like the pick. 

Former wide receiver Chris Carter and current wideout Adam Thielen both seem to have similar opinions with what the Vikings did with their 22nd pick. The pick fills a huge need for the Vikings and gives Kirk Cousins another option in the passing game. Former Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer also liked the choice of Jefferson.

Jalen Reagor provides an instant upgrade at WR for the Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles held on to the 21st pick in the draft and selected an electric playmaker from TCU; an instant upgrade

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If we told you that Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, and CeeDee Lamb would be off the board before the Eagles selected at pick 21 you would not have been shocked.

That scenario ended up being the reality as Lamb, arguably the best receiver in the draft, found himself in a free-fall until the Cowboys drafted him at 17th overall. Jerry Jones, effectively
mocked the Eagles, scooping up the explosive wideout – while leaving Eagles fans with their collective jaws on the floor.

Jim Schwartz and company will have to deal with Lamb twice a season for years to come, but that’s a topic for another day.

On the topic of Reagor, we’re asking you, our readers and fellow Eagles fans is to put this thought out of your mind. Does it hurt that a top-three wide receiver was theoretically in reach but Howie Roseman chose not to make a deal? Yes.

Reagor stands 5 feet, eleven inches tall, and ran a 4.47 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine, which shocked scouts and executives around the league; it hardly matches his tape. With all of the effects of COVID-19 players couldn’t have official pro days, but some players were able to have “virtual” pro days.

Reagor reportedly clocked a 4.28 at his.

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Use this information how you will – is Reagor closer to a 4.28 guy or a 4.47 guy? We think he’s somewhere in between.

Reagor’s connection to the franchise runs deep, his father Montae, played defensive tackle for the Eagles in 2007 and was a coaching intern for the team in 2011. New wide receiver’s coach Aaron Moorehead played with Montae with the Colts which gave him an inside track

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The downfall to Reagor’s collegiate game was erratic quarterback play, a limited route tree, and occasional drops. Some call him the second-coming of Nelson Agholor, make the jokes as you wish.

All kidding aside would you take these numbers, on average, from Reagor: 62 catches for 768 yard and 8 touchdowns, while providing a spark in the punt and kick return game? The answer is yes if the stats for Agholor’s 2017 season were the baseline for Jalen Reagor’s game I’d be pleased. No one was clamoring for a receiver during the Eagles’ Super Bowl season and Reagor can – and should – easily fill Agholor’s shoes.

As it stands now Reagor will serve a prominent role in the Eagles offense with DeSean Jackson recovering from a core muscle surgery, Alshon Jeffery starting the season on the bench recovering from a Lisfranc injury paired with and unproven JJ Arcega-Whiteside and up-and-coming Greg Ward, the opportunity will be there for him.

Reagor needs to make the most of it.

He has the tools to be a difference-maker both in the slot and on the outside in addition to special teams as a return man; his ceiling is as high as they come and I can’t fault Howie for swinging for the fences with the 21st pick.

I really like this pick for the Birds and I can’t wait to see how Doug Pederson implements him into the offense.

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Vikings draft grade: LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson

Vikings Wire gave a high grade to the Justin Jefferson choice at No. 22.

Minnesota added a speedy and elite collegiate wide receiver in Justin Jefferson, which also fills out a positional need for the Vikings.

Jefferson tallied 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns with Heisman trophy winner Joe Burrow throwing him the ball. Not only that, but LSU’s offensive line was one of the best, if not the best, in the NCAA.

Jefferson might not experience the same dominance in the NFL as he did at LSU, but he can still be a very solid wide receiver two alongside Adam Thielen.

He’ll arrive on a team with quarterback Kirk Cousins and an offensive line that improved last season, but still has a ways to go. Cousins was put into a system that emphasizes play-action passing and rollouts. The team also rushed the ball early and often.

I think it was a no-brainer for the Vikings to at least take a wide receiver relatively early in the NFL Draft. There was a question as to whether the team should pick one in the first round, considering this is a deep wide receiver class.

However, Jefferson is explosive, and the Vikings have thrived at times with two starting-caliber wide receivers in a Cousins-led offense. Overall, a very good pick.

Grade: A-

Vikings select WR Justin Jefferson in first round of NFL Draft

LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The – selected LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson with the -th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday evening.

Jefferson (6-1, 202 pounds) ran a 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 37.5 inches at the combine earlier this offseason. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared Jefferson to Greg Jennings, who was a second-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

“Teams looking for an inside/outside possession receiver with the size and savvy to make chain-moving catches could push Jefferson up the board,” Zierlein wrote of Jefferson on NFL.com before the draft.

During his final two seasons with the Tigers, Jefferson caught 165 passes for 2,415 yards and 24 touchdowns. He helped LSU win the CFB National Championship as a junior last season.

Jefferson was the fourth-best wide receiver in this year’s class, according to Luke Easterling’s rankings for Draft Wire. Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb were the only receivers that Draft Wire had ranked higher than Jefferson.

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Vikings draft Justin Jefferson at No. 22 in the NFL Draft

Say hello to the newest member of the Minnesota Vikings: Justin Jefferson!

Minnesota needed to replace the production Stefon Diggs leaves behind and drafting Justin Jefferson No. 22 overall certainly helps.

The Vikings traded Diggs to the Bills for draft picks, one of which was the No. 22 overall pick in the draft. Diggs was the Vikings’ leading receiver last season with 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions.

The LSU wide receiver was a second-team All-SEC honoree. In his final collegiate season with the team, Jefferson tallied 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns.

In 2018, Adam Thielen was ahead of Diggs in receiving yards with 1,373 to Diggs’ 1,021. In 2019, Thielen suffered a hamstring injury and only played in 10 games. However, Thielen still had his moments in the 2019 season, like when he tallied 129 receiving yards against the Saints, which included an over-the-shoulder, highlight-reel catch against the Saints to set up first-and-goal for the Vikings.

7 players that could slide down to Ravens in 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens pick near the end of the 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft but could see some top-10 players fall into their laps.

The Baltimore Ravens sit at the back of the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft — No. 28 specifically. While that doesn’t give them the plethora of amazing prospects like the first 10 teams will get to choose from, it does give Baltimore a chance to see someone fall into their laps.

Where the top half of the round usually consists of teams that are chasing their biggest needs, the Ravens instead pick the highest-rated player on their board. And when someone they have a top-15 grade on falls to No. 28, they’re all too happy to write that name on the card and call it a night.

In the 2020 NFL Draft, that won’t be any different. Baltimore could easily see a player many have rated highly slide down to them. Whether it be a run on a specific position or some teams having larger concerns about something that checked out, these are the seven players who could slide to the Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

LB Isaiah Simmons, Clemson

Simmons is a consensus top-10 player anywhere you look. The problem with Simmons is that many teams could be concerned about how to utilize him. While he’s labeled a linebacker and is sized accordingly, he’s got the speed of a safety. But he’s also a little raw on the mental side of the game, which makes a transition to one position or the other not as clear cut.

With so many hybrid players that have insane physical traits having not lived up to their high draft status because teams don’t know how to use them, they might not be as crazy about Simmons as draft analysts. But for the Ravens and their versatile scheme, you better believe they’ll know how to use Simmons and turn him into a monster.

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NFL Draft Buzz: Eagles enamored with Jalen Reagor’s explosive potential?

The Philadelphia Eagles are said to be enamored with Jalen Reagor and his explosive speed and potential

The Philadelphia Eagles are prepared to add some serious playmakers to the offense during the NFL Draft, but the drama set to unfold is centered on which receiver they’ll target.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlin completed his final mock draft and he has the Eagles landing Jalen Reagor from TCU at No. 21 overall.

His reasoning for the pick might surprise a few people.

No. 21 – Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU

This might be a surprising selection to some, but sources say the Eagles are enamored with Reagor’s speed and explosive potential as a three-level target for Carson Wentz.

Reagor has been mentioned in NFL draft circles as a playmaker who could bring a much-needed boost to the Eagles deep passing game.

Reagor finished the 2019 season with 43 receptions for 611 yards and 5 touchdowns. Those were solid numbers, but the not the All Big-12 stats many had come to expect.

His drop percentage is among the highest compared with the big-4, but he could be the dynamic playmaker the Eagles have lacked since drafting DeSean Jackson.

Reagor is one of the better kick and punt returning options in the draft as well.

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Saints have done their homework on a possible draft-day trade

The New Orleans Saints have done their diligence in starting trade talks with many teams slotted ahead of them in the 2020 NFL Draft.

 

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The New Orleans Saints are always one of the most aggressive teams during the NFL draft, and that’s how Sean Payton wants it. The Saints head coach has traded up in every draft he’s overseen (except for his first year on the job, way back in 2006; the Saints also stood pat in 2012, when he was suspended), trusting his team’s evaluations to target a prospect who easily fits what they want. That trend could continue in 2020.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Thursday that the Saints have touched base with each team slotted to pick above them in the first round to see what it would take to move up the board. It’s more important to do that legwork this year than ever before, with technology limitations possibly slowing down negotiations once teams are on the clock. Having the framework for a potential trade already in place, primed and ready to pull the trigger, makes plenty of sense. It’s simply doing your due diligence.

However, Russini cautioned that news by adding that the Saints feel they could get good value by remaining at No. 24, with internal projections putting them in good position to improve. They won’t trade up just for the sake of it.

But other teams could force their hand. The Saints share roster needs at linebacker and wide receiver with many teams directly ahead of them, including the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 20, the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 21, and the Minnesota Vikings at No. 22 (and the New England Patriots at No. 24, who might also be eyeing Utah State quarterback Jordan Love). Possibly losing out on a highly-rated prospect like Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray or LSU’s Justin Jefferson could prompt the Saints to be proactive on Thursday night.

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9 top WRs the Ravens could target in the 2020 NFL draft

The Baltimore Ravens have a need at wide receiver entering the 2020 NFL draft, but luckily the class is plenty deep with talent

The Baltimore Ravens have worked hard to revamp their wide receiver corps over the last three years. Thanks to a combination of drafting plenty of talent at the position and adding in key free agents, the Ravens finally have a formidable group of pass catchers for quarterback Lamar Jackson. But with the 2020 NFL Draft being historically deep at the position, Baltimore likely isn’t done stacking talent at wide receiver.

There are plenty of options all over the 2020 NFL Draft. Whether the Ravens want to add a playmaker with their first-round pick or grab someone for a niche role later in the draft, Baltimore is going to have someone available every round.

Let’s take a look at the top wide receivers the Ravens could target in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

WR Jerry Jeudy, Alabama

Jeudy has been considered one of the top wide receivers in his class for a long time. The 6-foot-1 receiver accumulated over 2,700 receiving yards and scored 26 touchdown catches in his time as a member of the Crimson Tide, distinguishing himself as the next great Alabama receiver.

Jeudy would be a dynamic piece in the Ravens offense. He has long arms, a good catch radius, is dynamic with the ball, and is a solid run blocker. Jeudy comes into the 2020 NFL Draft with a ton of polish already, especially as a route runner and he’d be an immediate starter in Baltimore’s offense.

Another big plus is Jeudy grew up in the same hometown as current Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and wide receiver Marquise Brown. He was recently working out with the pair this offseason, which means they already have a little rapport going.

The problem is Jeudy is expected to be gone well before Baltimore gets on the clock at No. 28. That means they’d have to trade up to get him, which would cost a fortune.

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