Sunday Problems with Saturday Solutions: Wide receiver help should be on the way

Surprise, surprise. The Eagles’ receivers are still horrible through ten games. The loss to the New England Patriots intensified the general ire towards the ineptitude of the receiving corps.

Some of the current group will not be in the fold next year with Nelson Agholor being a free agent, Alshon Jeffery’s long-term outlook in limbo, Mack Hollins a cut candidate and DeSean Jackson being old and coming off an injury. JJ Arcega-Whiteside remains as one of the only locks to make the team next year of the current group and his future role is still very much hypothetical. So the Eagles might be looking at a total reset at the position. Luckily, this wide receiver class is loaded with intriguing playmakers. In a stacked wide receiver class, the Eagles will be spoiled for options.

Here are a few names that stood out this past weekend.

Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson showed out big time despite the Gophers getting handed their first loss of the season against Iowa. The 6’2”, 205 pounder put up 170 receiving yards (season high) and a touchdown against the stingy Hawkeye defense. Johnson has paired with Rashod Bateman to make up one of the best receiving duos in the country and Saturday was a great example of how dangerous they are.

Johnson has still been productive despite sharing the ball with Bateman and his game against Iowa showed that he can be a true number one receiver. He looked fast, dependable with the ball in the air and played physically all game. It is a tough group to ascend in, but Johnson should be considered a fringe first round pick with that sort of play.

Late at night on Saturday, Michael Pittman Junior schooled the entire Cal Bears defense. Pittman Junior caught 11 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. Pittman Junior is a big time threat at 6’4”, 220 pounds with great speed. The Bears have a very good secondary so it’s no joke that Pittman consistently made plays against them. He is a physical, athletic guy and I’m interested to see how his draft stock rises into the offseason.

A sleeper that I’ve talked about before is WVU’s George Campbell. The 6’4” receiver has only caught 14 passes this year but at a clip of 27 yards a reception and he has scored on six of those catches. Against a ranked KSU team, Campbell was his normal playmaking self: Scoring twice on five catches and averaging over 18 yards a catch. Campbell is almost the three point specialist of the WVU offense. He is rarely featured but deadly efficient when he has a chance. His speed looks effortless with long strides and he has good ball skills down the field.

The Eagles will need to consider all wide receivers options going into the draft this season. Lucky for them they could be spoiled for choices.