Pick 1 (10th OVR)- DeVonta Smith, WR

[Art_Vandalay]

On 5/1/2021 at 5:37 AM, Illadelegend215 said:

So from the 3 games I watched from him, he gets himself open with superb route running. He has a quick release off the LOS and was legit abusing corners from the beginning of the routes. Like the legendary Jerry Rice, it’s said that he had a “slow 40”, but for some reason he has just enough speed to break away from even the fastest corners. He has MAGNIFICENT hands and makes body control adjustments which turns him into a really dangerous 50/50 ball type guy. So if he is underthrown he will make the adjustments. I am a Vikings fan, but I’m born and raised in southwest philly. Live in Philly right now, I legit sat at that draft and prayed y’all would get this kid so you can finally have a dangerous weapon at receiver. You’ll see what he can do and you will not be disappointed.

Thanks man. I couldn't really tell by the highlights if it was due to busted coverage or if it was elite route running getting the kid wide open. We don't exactly have a good track record drafting WR's so I'm naturally pessimistic.

[Kiltman]

46 minutes ago, Art_Vandalay said:

Thanks man. I couldn't really tell by the highlights if it was due to busted coverage or if it was elite route running getting the kid wide open. We don't exactly have a good track record drafting WR's so I'm naturally pessimistic.

He’s so frickin smooth that it does just look easy. 

Probably the best I’ve felt since taking Fletcher. I have even less questions about him. You could question the size but how dedicated and locked in he is overcomes any of that. Special player.

[EaglesFlySBChampsHigh]

2 hours ago, Art_Vandalay said:

Thanks man. I couldn't really tell by the highlights if it was due to busted coverage or if it was elite route running getting the kid wide open. We don't exactly have a good track record drafting WR's so I'm naturally pessimistic.

I watched him a lot . He was the reason I watched Bama games. Big fan of his for 2 years now. His that damn good, he busted the coverage if there was busts. He's that smooth and slick in his routes. I wouldn't worry about our track record because we never really took a player of his caliber this high that I can remember (@wr)

[Kiltman]

22 minutes ago, EaglesFlySBChampsHigh said:

I wouldn't worry about our track record because we never really took a player of his caliber this high that I can remember (@wr)

I don't really know exactly how Kenny Jackson was perceived when they took him 4th in '84. That draft was neutered by the USFL, which is how they got Reggie White in the supplemental draft that year. Bunch of guys through the years who were known but not at a dominant level like Smith.

Probably the closest ones to Smith would've been maybe Steve van Buren. Star offensive talent taken early. Also maybe Jay Berwanger, first Heisman winner and first draft selection of the NFL, that never played a down in the league. But it was so different back then, not really the same thing. Both are going all the way back to the 30s and 40s.

Closest things in Eagles history are maybe players we didn't get to take. Both of which created tentpoles in the "eagles fans are the worst" narratives. OJ Simpson, who we missed out on thanks to a meaningless win (created the Santa incident) and Ricky Williams, who we passed on for McNabb (Eagles' fans drowning out the draft with boos).

We just never really get these guys. I'm so excited.

[Kiltman]

 

[AZ_Eaglesfan]

30 minutes ago, Kiltman said:

 

Was just gunna post this. We gotta keeper. 

[Kiltman]

Interview with Chris Long (28 mins in)

 I’m so happy we have him.

[Danger]

18 minutes ago, Kiltman said:

Interview with Chris Long (28 mins in)

I’m so happy we have him.

Is it just me? I don't remember Reagor really being this open to the media, especially not this quickly after being drafted.

[Jeezla]

13 minutes ago, Danger said:

Is it just me? I don't remember Reagor really being this open to the media, especially not this quickly after being drafted.

Covid was making things a little tougher last year around this time, media wise, and in general. Either way, the only time I need my WR's being open is in a game. I don't care if Reagor takes a vow of silence as long as he balls.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Jeezla

[Scalamania]

On 5/7/2021 at 2:29 PM, Jeezla said:

Covid was making things a little tougher last year around this time, media wise, and in general. Either way, the only time I need my WR's being open is in a game. I don't care if Reagor takes a vow of silence as long as he balls.

It's probably best for Reagor to take a vow of silence anyways. He's taken a beating on social media and has shown glimpses of being soft - the Philly crowd/media will eat him alive. 

...but I agree, show up in the game and nobody is going to care about your interviews. 

[TheRealMcCoy]

2 hours ago, Scalamania said:

It's probably best for Reagor to take a vow of silence anyways. He's taken a beating on social media and has shown glimpses of being soft - the Philly crowd/media will eat him alive. 

He's not the only one though... we've been known for drafting guys that are too soft. Look at JJAW. Look at Dillard. Throwbacks but look at Marcus Smith and Danny Watkins. Pretty sure I've made this point before.

Philly is just a tough place to play and I think the front office needs to take that into consideration when drafting guys. Rookies get dragged through the mud if they struggle initially. Even Brandon Graham was being heralded as a bust and injury prone early on in his career. He had the talent and mindset to break free, but a lot of guys don't. 

That's one of the things I like about this draft is it seems like we got a bunch of hard working / high character types. Obviously we gotta see how they develop/perform, but I think its a good sign this year we took those types of guys and stuck to our board or at least it seems that way. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by TheRealMcCoy

[Scalamania]

9 minutes ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

He's not the only one though... we've been known for drafting guys that are too soft. Look at JJAW. Look at Dillard. Throwbacks but look at Marcus Smith and Danny Watkins. Pretty sure I've made this point before.

No doubt, was using Reagor because the post what about Reagor vs Smith and their media presence. 

I actually feel bad for Reagor because he's is going to take a beating from the media/fans if he doesn't perform this year and I worry the pressure might be too much. 

11 minutes ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

That's one of the things I like about this draft is it seems like we got a bunch of hard working / high character types. Obviously we gotta see how they develop/perform, but I think its a good sign this year we took those types of guys and stuck to our board or at least it seems that way. 

There's no way to tell this yet tbh. A lot of folks thought Watkins was a hard working/high character guy too; same with Reagor. You don't really know how someone will react until they're placed in the fire and there's probably no fire worse then the Philly media/fans. 

[TheRealMcCoy]

And, that's also why I made that point that DeVonta with his workman like attitude and focus on dominating on the practice field will do wonders for the other young receivers earlier on in this thread:

On 4/30/2021 at 12:33 AM, TheRealMcCoy said:

Either way Reagor just needs to stay off social media and focus on what he can control. I think a quiet confident guy who leads by example/work ethic like Smith is a great guy to have in the room with him.

I don't get why I see some Eagles fans trashing Reagor like Smith is taking his job. They are different types of receivers and will fill different roles/responsibilities. People also gotta remember Reagor is a little younger than Smith by like a couple months. It's not like this dude is done developing. I mean with COVID and no rookie camp, OTAs/minicamp and a shortened training camp where he missed a good chunk due to a fluky injury after a Hurts INT. I'm expecting him to bounce back pretty nicely assuming Hurts can accurately hit him downfield and go through his progressions better cause with his deep speed I'm guessing he's not gonna be the first progression. He'll get his share of screens which should be better designed and hopefully more accurately thrown.... Wentz sucked throwing behind the LOS to backs and receivers a lot of the time. I hated it lol.

[Scalamania]

1 minute ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

I don't get why I see some Eagles fans trashing Reagor like Smith is taking his job. They are different types of receivers and will fill different roles/responsibilities. People also gotta remember Reagor is a little younger than Smith by like a couple months. It's not like this dude is done developing. I mean with COVID and no rookie camp, OTAs/minicamp and a shortened training camp where he missed a good chunk due to a fluky injury after a Hurts INT. I'm expecting him to bounce back pretty nicely assuming Hurts can accurately hit him downfield and go through his progressions better cause with his deep speed I'm guessing he's not gonna be the first progression. He'll get his share of screens which should be better designed and hopefully more accurately thrown.... Wentz sucked throwing behind the LOS to backs and receivers a lot of the time. I hated it lol.

Assuming Jefferson continues to perform - unless Reagor has a monster year, which I don't expect, he's going to be a punching bag by the media yet again.

I did not like the Reagor pick, still don't like the pick and frankly don't think he's very good but damn do I feel bad for the kid. I hate the way the media/fans on social media have attacked him. I really hope he's able to turn it around and prove everyone (including myself) wrong and we can move past the beating he's taken from fans/media.  

[TheRealMcCoy]

1 minute ago, Scalamania said:

I actually feel bad for Reagor because he's is going to take a beating from the media/fans if he doesn't perform this year and I worry the pressure might be too much. 

If I was him I would just take a break from Twitter and then pop up back on there when I'm putting up stats and people can't talk ish, but maybe that's just me.

No need to let that type of negativity seep in when you are trying to make your dreams come to fruition.

5 minutes ago, Scalamania said:

There's no way to tell this yet tbh. A lot of folks thought Watkins was a hard working/high character guy too; same with Reagor. You don't really know how someone will react until they're placed in the fire and there's probably no fire worse then the Philly media/fans. 

I never remember Reagor being heralded for this kind of mental/preparation stuff like we've seen with Smith. 

Watkins was seen as a safe prospect and high character guy sure, but I still don't get why we took a guy that high who is old & plays a less valuable position.