Written by Matt Green
August 30, 2022
Image of Justin Jefferson from the 2021 NFL Season | Retrieved from @jjettas2 on Instagram.
Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson: a decision that still haunts Eagles fans two years after the 2020 NFL Draft.
Throughout their first two seasons in the NFL, Jefferson has over four times the amount of total receiving yards than Reagor and has 14 more touchdowns. Jefferson has solidified himself as one of the league's best offensive weapons, while Reagor has been labelled as a bust.
From the moment the Eagles were on the clock up until now, Justin Jefferson was the clear-cut better player and should have been drafted by the Eagles. While the Eagles' front office cannot go back in time and remake the selection, we can hypothesize how the past two seasons of NFL football in Philadelphia would have looked had the Eagles picked Justin Jefferson instead of Jalen Reagor.
The 2020 Eagles Go 5-11
Despite how electric of a playmaker Justin Jefferson is, it is hard to imagine that he would have made a major difference on a very bad 2020 Eagles team. He may have helped inflate Carson Wentz's passing totals, but even Jefferson could not have helped Wentz keep his job in Philadelphia. However, the addition of the star wide receiver helps the Eagles win one more game than they did in real life.
During his rookie season, Jefferson posted 1,400 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. In Philadelphia, let's say those number slightly decline. Instead, he still puts up a strong rookie campaign with 1,100 yards, but he only scores three touchdowns in an offense that was plagued by injuries, bad quarterback play, and a head coach that had half of his foot already out of the door.
The 2021 Off-Season Looks A Little Different
It is hard to imagine that Jefferson's presence in Philadelphia affects the head coach hiring of Nick Sirianni much at all. The Doug Pederson-Carson Wentz era is believed to have ended because of many things that happened off of the field, so the rookie wide receiver probably does not keep either of them in the building. However, Jefferson as an Eagle does reshape the 2021 NFL Draft.
Instead of originally picking at six, the Eagles are granted the eighth overall pick. Because wide receiver is much less of a need for Philadelphia, the Eagles end up never trading back and sit at eight with their eye on defensive talent. The board falls how they like it, and they select Jaycee Horn, a highly talented cornerback out of South Carolina. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers draft Patrick Surtain II, the Broncos pick Micah Parsons, and Devonta Smith falls into the laps of the New York Giants. Without Parsons on the board, the Cowboys opt to select Kwity Paye, a highly graded edge rusher out of Michigan that falls out of the top ten picks due to injury concerns.
Justin Jefferson on the Eagles completely reshapes the landscape of the entire NFL, and especially the NFC East.
The 2021 Eagles Go 11-6
At this point in history, Jalen Hurts is named the starter; he and Jefferson enter their second year in the NFL together with a full off-season under their belts. They immediately showcase an one-the-field rapport with each other that takes the league by storm. Jalen Hurts throws 19 touchdowns, still scores 10 on the ground, and throws for 3,500 yards. Jefferson gives the Eagles 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns, a stat-line that still gets him into the Pro Bowl, but he is unable to come close to what he does as the primary weapon in Minnesota. This is because Nick Sirianni still leans on the run game to win a bulk of their games.
With that said, Jefferson's contributions to the offense helps the team win two closely decided battles against the 49ers and Chargers, both narrow losses in real life. This earns them the fifth seed and the first Wild Card spot in the NFC Playoffs. Instead of facing Tampa Bay, the Eagles run into the Los Angeles Rams, who still steamroll over the Eagles on their way to an eventual Super Bowl victory.
2022 Off-Season
In free agency, Howie Roseman still brings in Kyzir White and Zach Pascal. James Bradberry IV still becomes available, but he signs with a different team as the Eagles are already stable at cornerback with Darius Slay Jr. and Jaycee Horn locking down the secondary.
The NFL Draft, once again, is completely shaken up. Instead of originally having three first-round picks, the Eagles only have two as they never acquire the Dolphins' pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. They still own the rights to their own pick (23) and the Colts' pick (16).
In this scenario, they never trade up to pick 13 to get Jordan Davis. Luckily for them, he falls to 16 after the Texans select Kyle Hamilton at 13, the Ravens reach for Tyler Linderbaum at 14, and the Dolphins pick Zion Johnson at 15. The Eagles still keep their pick at 23, which lands them an edge rusher in George Karlaftis.
While the Eagles do have Justin Jefferson, they only have Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal to compliment him with no Devonta Smith, A.J. Brown, or Jalen Reagor in the building. This impacts their second round selection, where instead of picking Cam Jurgens at 51 overall, they select Georgia wide receiver George Pickens.
So...
Much like real life, the Philadelphia Eagles still enter the 2022 season with high expectations after a Wild Card berth the year before. Fans are still excited with Justin Jefferson and George Pickens leading the wide receiver core, the defense with a bunch of new faces, and a quarterback expected to take the next step.
The question is, which scenario is better?
The real-life one with A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and an older, more experienced defense,
OR the scenario with Justin Jefferson as the face of the franchise, George Pickens on the Eastern side of Pennsylvania, and a defense full of young, first-round talents.
In truth, the world will never know how Justin Jefferson in midnight green would have panned out. With that said, this season will be a big indicator on if the Eagles' miss on him was a blessing in disguise in the long run.
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