Sunday was not a good day for Howie Roseman.
Yes, the 13-7 loss to the Giants was ugly to watch, but it had to be especially hard for Roseman to watch the Eagles loose they way they did.
His pick — the pick that gets tied to him perhaps more than any other he has made — dropped two potential game-winning touchdowns in the final minutes. The first one bounced off of his helmet and then hands. The second one went right through his hands.
If Jalen Reagor catches either one, not only is he a hero in an otherwise ugly game, but Roseman’s recent streak of his draft picks looking good would have continued.
Instead, the passes were dropped — and the Eagles lost.
The truth is that, overall, this season has not been a bad one for Roseman. His 2021 NFL Draft class looks filled with hits. His head coach and defensive coordinator have done a good job overall. The offensive line he has built is one of the best in the NFL. The offseason trades he made look better each week.
His misses — and mistakes — at wide receiver, however, are hurting this team and could end up costing them a trip to the playoffs.
How has Roseman mishandled the receiver position?
Here are some of his recent mistakes:
Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson: This is the obvious one, so let’s start with the mistake everyone will be talking about this week.
There really is no rationalizing the decision to pick Reagor over Jefferson. Jefferson was the more productive college player, he dominated at a higher level of college football and he had shown he had the versatility to play both inside-and-outside. There were some questions about Jefferson’s ability to play on the outside at the NFL, but clearly those were proven incorrect, and it was Roseman’s job to correctly scout that wouldn’t be an issue.
Even if the coaching staff did want Reagor, and the team had a need for a deep threat outside, the miss on Jefferson is inexcusable. The Eagles were looking for a wide receiver. They had invested tons of resources into scouting the position that year considering how deep the class was. Missing on Jefferson is bad for all the teams that passed on him, but it is especially bad for the Eagles considering they picked a receiver the pick before Jefferson went.
Reagor certainly holds responsibility, as all players do, for his performance. He needs a change of scenery and to get out of Philadelphia. The anger towards Reagor, however, should be directed at Roseman.
Passing on Tee Higgins: The decision to pass on Justin Jefferson gets talked about (very) often. The one that isn’t discussed enough is the decision to pass on Tee Higgins.
Higgins, like Jefferson, was also a dominant college player against top-level competition. He was considered one of the best receivers in college football and had elite size for the position. Higgins fell into the second round, so Roseman is not alone in underestimating what he could do at the NFL level, but again — the Eagles were looking for a wide receiver. They desperately needed to find one, and in a receiver rich draft, they should have been able to do so.
Jefferson gets the spotlight, but Higgins — with 1,468 yards and nine touchdowns in 25 games — is a terrible miss as well.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in the 2nd round: The selection of J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is often tied to D.K. Metcalf, much like the Reagor pick is tied to Jefferson. That isn’t completely fair. Metcalf was a medical risk coming out of college, which is why he fell as late in the draft as he did. If Roseman is being told there are medical concerns, passing on him is somewhat understandable.
What is bad is missing on Arcega-Whiteside.
Take the Metcalf connection out of it and the selection of Arcega-Whiteside is still a miss. Arcega-Whiteside has 290 yards and one touchdown in three seasons, with his role on the team now more focused on special teams than contributing on offense. Arcega-Whiteside has been unable to get on the field, and when he has, he almost never has the ball come his way. It’s hard to decide which is worse — Reagor being forced on the field and into the offense, or Arcega-Whiteside being completely uninvolved.
To Arcega-Whiteside’s credit, he has at least found a way to contribute to the team. It just isn’t in the way Roseman planned when he spent a second-round pick on him.
Trading for DeSean Jackson: Roseman’s misses at receiver haven’t just been in the draft.
Roseman’s decision to trade for DeSean Jackson as the answer to the team’s need for a deep threat prior to the 2019 season was a mistake. Jackson had a great Week 1, but was never an impact player again for the Eagles for the rest of 2019 or any of 2020. Jackson totaled just 25 catches and 3 touchdowns in eight games for the Eagles, while missing 24 games due to injury.
The Eagles didn’t trade much to get get Jackson, but Roseman’s attempt at finding a veteran deep threat was a major miss.
Paying Nelson Agholor $10 million in 2019: Agholor’s time with the Eagles actually looks better the more Reagor plays, but his last season with the team was a disappointment — and expensive disappointment.
Agholor played the 2019 season on his fifth-year option, an option that cost the Eagles just under $10 million for one season. Agholor finished that year with 39 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns, numbers that obviously weren’t what Roseman thought he would get when picking up his option.
Unfortunately for Roseman, the wasted money at the receiver position in 2019 and 2020 did not stop with Agholor.
Extending Alshon Jeffery: Roseman’s decision to sign Alshon Jeffery to a one-year deal prior to the 2017 season proved to be the right one. Jeffery played a major role in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl and was the No. 1 receiver they needed during the playoffs.
Roseman’s decision to double-down on Jeffery on was a mistake.
Roseman elected to restructure Jeffery’s contract prior to the 2019 season, a move that gave the Eagles some salary cap relief at the time, but ended up committing them to Jeffery for the 2020 season. Jeffery had a disappointing 2019 season, but things got worse for the Eagles and Jeffery when he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in December.
The combination of the injury and the re-worked contract made it impossible to move Jeffery, who ended up on the team during the 2020 season simply because of the terrible decision to re-work his contract.
Not bringing in a veteran this season: The decision to not have a veteran wide receiver on the roster heading into this season has proven to be costly.
While it is understandable for Roseman to want to play the young receivers like DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins and Reagor, what isn’t understandable is not having a veteran safety blanket ready incase they needed one. Reagor is struggling, obviously, but the truth is he is still one of the better options on the team at receiver, even if it might look like the backups couldn’t be worse.
Roseman didn’t need to commit big money to a receiver. He needed to find an adequate, veteran receiver that could step in if needed. His failure to do so has really hurt the passing game.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!