Before Calvin Ridley was suspended for the season, there were a couple of teams looking to trade for him. We learned last week that the Eagles were one of those teams, which makes sense. Last year's top pick DeVonta Smith was a 900-yard receiver, but he was about all they had at the position.
Quez Watkins (43-647-1), former first-rounder Jalen Reagor (33-299-2), Greg Ward (7-95-3) and former second-rounder J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (2-36-0); that's the rest of this team's receiving corps. They need to add someone noteworthy.
Ridley is out of the picture, and many of the big-name free agents (such as they are) signed already. Allen Robinson is a possibility, and perhaps another veteran interests them.
But the Eagles also have three first-round picks, and it looks like an appealing wide receiver class. There might be four or five first-round talents. It would be surprising if the Eagles didn't use one of their picks on a wideout, even if they also sign a quality free agent.
Ohio State teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Arkansas' Treylon Burks (pictured) and Alabama's Jameson Williams are among the names floated as likely first-rounders, and one of them might reasonably be called by the Eagles. Last year they were among the NCAA's best receivers, most notably in terms of scoring. There were 30 pass catchers to catch at least 10 TDs last year; each of those guys did so.
| COLLEGE RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS, 2021 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | School | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Jordan Addison | Pittsburgh | 14 | 100 | 1593 | 15.9 | 17 |
| Jerreth Sterns | Western Kentucky | 14 | 150 | 1902 | 12.7 | 17 |
| A.T. Perry | Wake Forest | 14 | 71 | 1293 | 18.2 | 15 |
| Jameson Williams | Alabama | 15 | 79 | 1572 | 19.9 | 15 |
| Mitchell Tinsley | Western Kentucky | 14 | 87 | 1402 | 16.1 | 14 |
| Brock Bowers | Georgia | 14 | 56 | 882 | 15.8 | 13 |
| Chris Olave | Ohio State | 11 | 65 | 936 | 14.4 | 13 |
| Nathaniel Dell | Houston | 14 | 90 | 1329 | 14.8 | 12 |
| Jahan Dotson | Penn State | 12 | 91 | 1182 | 13.0 | 12 |
| Zakhari Franklin | Texas-San Antonio | 13 | 81 | 1027 | 12.7 | 12 |
| Isaiah Likely | Coastal Carolina | 13 | 59 | 912 | 15.5 | 12 |
| Isaiah Neyor | Wyoming | 13 | 44 | 878 | 20.0 | 12 |
| Cedric Tillman | Tennessee | 12 | 64 | 1081 | 16.9 | 12 |
| Garrett Wilson | Ohio State | 11 | 70 | 1058 | 15.1 | 12 |
| Xavier Worthy | Texas | 12 | 63 | 998 | 15.8 | 12 |
| Treylon Burks | Arkansas | 12 | 66 | 1104 | 16.7 | 11 |
| Jalen Cropper | Fresno State | 13 | 85 | 899 | 10.6 | 11 |
| Romeo Doubs | Nevada | 11 | 80 | 1109 | 13.9 | 11 |
| Brandon Johnson | Central Florida | 12 | 38 | 565 | 14.9 | 11 |
| Derek Wright | Utah State | 14 | 48 | 789 | 16.4 | 11 |
| Brandon Bowling | Utah State | 14 | 56 | 835 | 14.9 | 10 |
| Tay Martin | Oklahoma State | 12 | 80 | 1046 | 13.1 | 10 |
| Skyy Moore | Western Michigan | 12 | 95 | 1292 | 13.6 | 10 |
| Kyle Philips | UCLA | 11 | 59 | 739 | 12.5 | 10 |
| Gerrit Prince | Alabama-Birmingham | 13 | 36 | 699 | 19.4 | 10 |
| Jayden Reed | Michigan State | 13 | 59 | 1026 | 17.4 | 10 |
| Jack Sorenson | Miami (OH) | 13 | 76 | 1406 | 18.5 | 10 |
| JaCorey Sullivan | Central Michigan | 10 | 49 | 687 | 14.0 | 10 |
| Deven Thompkins | Utah State | 14 | 102 | 1704 | 16.7 | 10 |
| Tyquan Thornton | Baylor | 14 | 62 | 948 | 15.3 | 10 |
Two other names that stand out on the list (mostly from impressing at the combine) are Western Michigan's Skyy Moore and Baylor's Tyquan Thornton. Moore ran a 4.41 and figures to be at least a second-round pick. Thornton initially was reported to have turned in a combine record 4.21, but his official time was 4.28. Still really fast, and Thornton might also be a Day 2 (Round 2-3) pick.
The Eagles appear to have gotten burned on Reagor, infamously selected before Justin Jefferson two drafts ago, but seems to be a good chance they'll roll the dice with another early selection next month.
--Andy Richardson