Jalen Reagor Welcomes DeVonta Smith, Feels More Comfortable In Second Season

It’s Christmas Eve in Philadelphia and receiver Jalen Reagor’s feeling like last year’s favorite gift, knowing he’s hours away from being replaced by a new, shinier, more-expensive present. Now, the Eagle is gushing over first-round rookie DeVonta Smith and expressing more confidence entering his second season, hoping to remain a top-tier toy.

A year after selecting Reagor in the first-round, Philly went back to the well in search of a playmaker to help a sputtering offense. In April’s draft, they selected Alabama Heisman trophy winner DeVonta Smith with the 10th overall pick. Many viewed the Smith pick as an early sign that Philadelphia may have buyer’s remorse about the Reagor selection. An injury plagued rookie year limited the 5’11 speedster to 11 games and just 31 receptions.

If Reagor’s feeling the heat though, he’s not saying so publicly, telling Sports Illustrated’s Ed Kracz: “It was a great thing for this organization to do, bringing another weapon on the field, another weapon in our receiving room,” said Reagor. “We’re going to complement each other well.”

A two-time All Big 12 selection out of TCU, Reagor is of the mindset that he and Smith will complement one another in the Eagle offense: “There are things that I can do that he isn’t doing, and vice versa. To me, I look at it like it’s going to make our room much better, make our team much better.”

As the second year wideout sees it, his underwhelming rookie campaign was largely due to injury, and a season of good health is the key to an impactful 2021: “I feel like, me being healthy, the best ability is availability. As long as I’m healthy, I feel like everything is going to go great,” Reagor told Kracz.

“It’s just like being a freshman in high school, and then your sophomore year, you’re like, ‘OK, I know how everything goes,’” Reagor continued. “You kind of get a feel for everything, as far as your routine, how you do things, the time you wake up, the time you get to the facility.

“That second year, you’re more comfortable, everyone knows you and you know what to do. So I feel like things are a little more at ease.”

Philadelphia opens training camp July 27th, providing Reagor with a second chance to prove the Eagles weren’t handed a lump of coal in the 2020 draft.