A Wide Receiver for Each Day of the Draft — Who should the Eagles go after?
Every Eagles fan, or at least most Eagles fans, believe that the Eagles need to select a wide receiver in the first two days of the draft. They ended the year with Greg Ward, JJ Arcega-Whiteside (future article about his putrid rookie season soon), and Deontay Burnett starting for them. They even had to resign Shelton Gibson, their fifth-round pick in 2017, whom they cut in the pre-season. Therefore, in my opinion, the Eagles need to at least draft two wide receivers this year in the draft. Here is one wide receiver Howie Roseman should target for each day of the draft.
Day 1:
Laviska Shenault Colorado
6’ 2” 220 lbs
The Eagles and the NFL are continuing the trend of valuing versatility, and Laviska defines versatility. Playing outside receiver, slot, tight end, and running back in the Wildcat formation, give Shenault the ball and he will turn defenders on their back or power through them with his lower body and shoulders. His best attribute, besides versatility, is his YAC (yards after the catch).
Moreover, Shenault’s catch radius and explosiveness make him a capable deep threat. No, he does not have the burst of a Jalen Rigor or Henry Ruggs, but for his frame, no one in the country matches his explosiveness. He is a cheetah mixed with a gorilla.
However, do not view Laviska as the second coming of Cordarrelle Patterson: he is a wide receiver at heart. Sure, he runs poor routes, putrid breaks, similar to Patterson, but playing four different positions will allow that to happen. Shenault did not have the time to develop his route-tree at college because the Colorado coaching staff asked a lot of him due to his natural talent.
Overall, Laviska Shenault is the third-best wide receiver coming out season, in my opinion, solely behind CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy. Although I would currently select Ruggs over Shenault at 21 because of the sheer amount of speed the Eagles lack top to bottom, as the days go by and as I watch more tape, I am leaning more towards drafting Laviska if they are both available. He is a matchup nightmare: put him on a linebacker he is too fast, put him the slot he is too strong, or put on the outside and let him go up snag the ball at its apex. Given the right wide receiver coach, Laviska Shenault could become a top 15 receiver in the NFL. My worry about Shenault is the combine; he may jump out of the gym and into a top 15 pick, which he would have been in any other draft class.
Extra Notes about Laviska Shenault:
- In terms of blocking, Laviska is more than capable, but at times he is unwilling. Doubt this will be an issue at the NFL level because he must block to get snaps.
- Shenault excels in the goal to go situations: put him in wild cat formation or the backfield, and he will plow through to the end zone. Add another weapon Doug Pederson can use at the goal line.
Day 2:
KJ Hamler Penn State
5’ 9” 176 lbs
If the Eagles want to prioritize speed this offseason, which they should, Howie Roseman should look no further than KJ Hamler in day two, most likely the second round. Hamler is one of, if not the most, explosive player in college football. KJ has break-away speed: expect him to run in the low 4.4s at the combine. Hamler is not merely a burner; he also has excellent route-running to giving him a diverse skill set. He is an extremely fluid, yet jerky, in a beneficial manner, route runner. To be more explicit, at the stem of his routes, he shuffles his feet and angles his body to catch the defender off guard, but on simple slants and other routes of that nature, he stomps his foot into the ground and instantaneously changes direction. Likewise, that instantaneous change in direction allows him to put defenders on the turf after the catch. Like Shenault, Halmer is elite after the catch, especially in space.
There are a few flaws with Hamler, mostly due to his size. Weighing 176 lbs, he must bulk up to be productive at the NFL level, but this could hinder his speed. Also, Hamler saw a lot of off coverage in college because of his speed and not much press-coverage; in the NFL, he will be tested against press coverage, especially since he will transition into solely a slot receiver. Moreover, the vital question for Eagles fans is his hands. Although Hamler uses all 5’ 9” of his body to high-point the ball, he tries to clamp the ball; thus, he could have a problem with drops early in his NFL career.
Another question mark about Hamler’s game is his blocking. He is indeed willing, but at that size, most cornerbacks will take his lunch money at the next level. This shortcoming is less of a problem for the Eagles since Doug Pederson would take Hamler out and use 12-personnel if he wanted to pound the rock.
Ultimately, KJ Hamler, despite his physical limitations, is elite in terms of route running, speed, and YAC. Although drafting Hamler would most likely spell the end of Greg Ward in Philly, KJ fits the bill for everything the Eagles lack in their receiving core.
Day 3:
Tyler Johnson Minnesota
6’ 2” 205 lbs
Currently, most people believe Tyler Johnson will be drafted on day two; nevertheless, expect him to fall to day three in the draft. He is not the fastest, nor the tallest, or the strongest. However, his production in college is off the charts: back to back seasons with over 1,000 yards. Understandably, he sounds like the second coming of JJ Arcega-Whiteside (I would caution not to give up on Whiteside yet), but unlike JJ, his route running is one of his strengths, although it is inconsistent at times. Johnson will run 4–5 superb routes and then 1–2 poor routes.
Similar to the other two prospects, YAC defines Tyler Johnson. When he gets the pigskin in space, it is not pretty, but he can break defenders with his cuts and can carve up a defense.
Out of all the prospects listed, Johnson has the highest football IQ. He understands what the defensive back is leveraging, inside or outside, and finds the holes in defenses, particularly in zone coverage. As for man coverage, he either uses his route running to separate from his defender or high points 50–50 balls. His catch radius is enormous for a 6’ 2” receiver allowing him to make contested catches. As a result, Johnson is a threat in the red zone.
Nonetheless, there are negatives concerning the Minnesota product. Despite being good at contested catches, Tyler lacks physicality. He struggles in press and does not use his frame to gain an advantage against smaller cornerbacks. In terms of being a deep threat, Johnson has enough speed to get past defenders, but there is nothing extraordinary in that regard (expect him to run in the mid to high 4.4s). However, he makes up for that because he is exceptional at stacking. Stacking is essentially when the receiver beats a cornerback deep, and, instead of maintaining his distance with the DB, the receiver “boxes-out” the CB. Furthermore, before the ball reaches the receiver, he accelerates and locates the pigskin. Hence, defenders have to respect the deep-ball to a certain extent against him.
Tyler Johnson could be the steal of the draft. Many NFL franchises value measurables over production, understandably, because these franchises trust their coaches to bring out the talent from their players. However, there is something to be said about elite college production and how it translates to the NFL.
Extra Notes About Tyler Johnson:
Johnson can play both inside and outside, which could make him a matchup nightmare in the NFL.
All in all, the 2020 draft is loaded with receivers. It could be a decade before there is a receiver class like this, so Howie Roseman double-dip this year and select two wide-outs.
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Originally published at FlyPhillyFly.com
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