The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Stanford wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Thus far in the preseason, Arcega-Whiteside has exceeded their expectations. It may just be the preseason, but the former Cardinal receiver has gotten Doug Pederson excited. The Eagles head coach had some strong words for his rookie receiver.
“One of the things [about] J.J. is [he is] a hard worker,” Pederson said after the game. “You see it in practice every day. He comes to work every day. He wants to get better. He wants to be taught. He wants to learn. He has a great mentor in Alshon [Jeffery] in front of him, so he’s learning from that. Being able to talk to Josh or talk to Carson [Wentz] during the week, talk about routes, talk about coverage, and that’s where he really takes it over to the field, and I think that’s what you saw tonight with him and his ability to make plays. The red zone we know he can be explosive. He was able to do that really not only there, but out in the field.”
I wasn’t a fan of the Arcega-Whiteside pick. I think he’s really a one trick pony kind of guy (Or at least was at Stanford). He’s pretty good at coming up with jump balls. You need more than that in the NFL. Here is a few reasons why Philadelphia could make this work. A: Alshon Jeffery is a great mentor. B: Philadelphia has a great play caller with Doug. C: Carson Wentz… duh. D: Howie Roseman has a proven track record finding talent. Hey, maybe it works. I’m still dubious.
7 of Josh McCown’s 17 completions went to the 2nd round pick out of Stanford. JJ finished off the game against the Ravens with 8 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. IF Arcega-Whiteside is the real deal, this Eagles offense only gets scarier.
