Eagles: Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor show growth in preseason debut

The Philadelphia Eagles young wide receivers, Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins, showed some growth in their preseason debut.

The Philadelphia Eagles went with adding speed in the 2020 NFL Draft, selecting a trio of vertical threats in Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, and John Hightower. It was a commitment to finding an element that the offense had been missing for some time.

After one season, the jury is out on these guys. Reagor started 11 games, and caught 31 passes on 54 targets for 396 yards. Many have been quick to write Reagor off, as he struggled to separate and had some costly drops. Of course, when you are a first round selection, the pressure is on to produce early, while having patience is the better course of action as a fan.

As for Watkins, there were less expectations for him as a rookie being a day three pick, but after great reports out of camp, fans probably expected more than just seven catches in six games.

Now that each of the two get an opportunity to go through a more “normal” training camp and, especially, preseason games, which weren’t played last year, things could look different in year two.

Both showed up in their first preseason outing and both showed some growth. Watkins nearly made a big play happen early, as he won on a nine route to gain some separation vertically, but the throw from Jalen Hurts was just out of reach. He got his next opportunity on a screen pass from Joe Flacco, and showed off the straight line speed en route to a 79 yard touchdown.

Reagor caught two passes for 20 yards, but had a memorable rep against projected starter Cam Sutton. He got into a speed release nicely, and showed good pad level and hand usage to clear contact for himself at the top of his out route, and gained significant separation for a first down reception.

Both Quez Watkins and Jalen Reagor still have to build on that performance and show consistency in their development as players, but each took a nice step forward with their preseason reps. It’s likely those reps continue for the next two games, as things ramp up for the season. Both should get their opportunities with the Eagles this season, even with Devonta Smith in the fold, and it will be interesting to see if both can capitalize on their targets, use their speed, and improve as route runners. It was a big first step tonight.