2021 NFL draft: It’s another deep WR class. Will the Eagles take one, and when?

This is the third of an 11-part series on the 2021 NFL draft in which, for the third straight year, Ben Fennell breaks down the draft for The Inquirer. Ben is an Emmy award-winning producer, editor, and researcher across several media platforms, most notably NFL Network and ESPN College Football. This will be his seventh draft for the NFL Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @benfennell_NFL.

The wide receiver class in the 2020 draft was considered one of the best and deepest in history. Six wideouts went in the first round. Thirteen went in the first two rounds, and 37 were selected overall.

The Eagles took three of those 37 wideouts, selecting Jalen Reagor in the first round, John Hightower in the fourth round, and Quez Watkins in the sixth.

One year later, the 2021 wide receiver class appears to be at least as good and at least as deep.

“I think it’s better,” NFL Network draft analyst Ben Fennell said. “I think there’s better talent at the top. I think there’s more Day 2 starters. And I think there’s more immediate Day 3 contributors and role players.”

Whether the Eagles will dip their toes into the wide receiver waters again remains to be seen. None of the three wideouts they drafted last year distinguished themselves as rookies. Reagor, the 21st overall pick, missed five games with injuries and had 31 receptions and one touchdown.

Hightower had just 10 catches and no TDs. He played only 63 offensive snaps in the Eagles’ last nine games. And Watkins played in just six games and had seven catches.

Of the 13 wideouts taken in the first two rounds last year, seven had 50 or more receptions, including 88 by the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, who was taken one pick after the Eagles selected Reagor. Eight of the 13 wideouts taken in Rounds 1 and 2 had three touchdown catches or more, including nine by Steelers second-rounder Chase Claypool, who was the 49th overall pick.

“A lot of teams saw a lot of immediate results from the receivers that went high last year,” Fennell said. “I think that trend is going to continue and make teams that much more eager to get somebody that can contribute right away. Wide receiver has become a position that is very translatable from Saturdays to Sunday.”

Six or more wideouts could go in the first round, headed by LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase and Alabama’s DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle.

1. Ja’Marr Chase, LSU, 6-0, 201, Round 1

2. DeVonta Smith, Alabama, 6-1, 170, Round 1

3. Jaylen Waddle, Alabama, 5-9, 180, Round 1

4. Rashod Bateman, Minnesota, 6-0, 190, Round 1-2

5. Terrace Marshall Jr., LSU, 6-3, 205, Round 1-2

Ja’Marr Chase

LSU

6-0, 201

Hands: 9 5/8 inches

40-time: 4.38 seconds

Vertical jump: 41 inches

225 bench: n/a

Fennell’s take: “Chase, who sat out last season, is an alpha dog type of receiver. Very physical. He’s physical getting off press coverage, physical separating and physical at the catch point. He has strong hands. He’s a confident receiver in every aspect of the game. He doesn’t back down from anything or anybody.

“He’s a very well-rounded receiver despite being just 6-1 and a shade under 200 pounds. He reminds me a lot of Andre Rison. That kind of no-nonsense receiver who will have no problem putting his helmet down and fighting you if he had to. He’s going to be a quarterback’s best friend.

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“He had one of the most prolific receiving seasons I’ve ever seen in 2019 outside of Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald. He was Joe Burrow’s go-to guy on that LSU national-championship team. It was a heavy, RPO-based offense in which the receivers almost always were running routes. So you didn’t get to see his blocking and things like that much. But if you’re drafting a guy as high as Chase is going to go, you’re probably not drafting him for his blocking ability.”

Round projection: 1 (first or second non-QB off the board)

DeVonta Smith

Alabama

6-1, 170

Hands: 9 3/8 inches

40-time: n/a

Vertical jump: n/a

225 bench: n/a

Fennell’s take: “He was a prolific player before this year. But winning the Heisman and his role in helping Alabama win the national championship has helped make him a top-15 pick, which I don’t think a lot of people saw coming into the year because of his size. There still are questions about whether his thin frame can win and hold up in the NFL. But he shredded everybody he faced in the SEC. He had no problem with anybody.

“He’s incredibly strong despite his size. Twitchy. Sudden. Good hands. A yards-after-the-catch threat. The whole package. If you have concerns about his size, you need to look at the success of other smaller guys. Isaac Bruce was 5-11, 173 and wasn’t a 4.4 guy. Marvin Harrison. Shawn Jefferson. Keenan McCardell, who played in the league for 15 years. He was 175 pounds. So it’s not unprecedented. It’s just unconventional.

“I think he’s going to be an inside-outside type of guy. You wouldn’t stick him outside the numbers every play and say go win against press corners. I didn’t put him in the slot receiver group because those are yards-after-the catch guys. He can get yards after the catch, but he’s more a third-down chain-mover or a big-play type of guy than a YAC guy. He’s not going to slide past 15. The Chargers will take him. Or the Eagles will take him. He’s a safe player. You know what you’re getting.”

Round projection: 1

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Southern Cal

6-1, 195

Hands: 9 1/8 inches

40-time: 4.51 seconds

Vertical jump: 38 ½ inches

225 bench: 20 reps

Fennell’s take: “His dad was a former Mr. Universe. He had his kids lifting weights when they were 3-4 years old. And for everything physical and athletic that his dad had them doing, his mom made them do academic stuff. He and his brothers all speak multiple languages. His older brother, Equanimeous, plays for the Packers. His younger brother, Osiris, plays wide receiver at Stanford.

“He had some of the most diverse receiver production I’ve ever seen. He can win in the slot, outside the numbers and in the backfield. Last year, they had a running back shortage against Colorado and put him in the backfield and handed it to him. He ran for a 30-yard touchdown. He can get yards after the catch. He excels on the jump stuff on third down and own-the-field stuff. He’s very competitive at the catch point.

“He’s a sleeper for a number of reasons. Playing on the West Coast, you don’t hear about those guys as much. And he didn’t have tons and tons of production. Just 41 catches last season. He was overshadowed by Michael Pittman in 2019 and has had a variety of quarterbacks throwing to him the last two years.

“A lot of people see him strictly as a slot guy. But I think he can be more than that. He reminds me of [the Bengals’] Tyler Boyd. He’s used primarily in the slot, but they move him outside in the red zone and throw him fades and he wins at the catch point. So I think he’s a guy who can do a lot more at the next level than he did at USC.”

Round projection: 1-2

1. Elijah Moore, Ole Miss, 5-9, 180, Round 2

2. Kadarius Toney, Florida, 6-0, 193, Round 2

3. Amari Rodgers, Clemson, 5-9, 212, Round 3-4

4. Ihmar Smith-Marsette, Iowa, 6-0, 179, Round 5-6

5. Tutu Atwell, Louisville, 5-9, 155, Round 5-6

Elijah Moore

Ole Miss

5-9, 180

Hands: 9½ inches

40-time: 4.32 seconds

Vertical jump: 36 inches

225 bench: 17 reps

Fennell’s take: “He’s as prolific a route runner as there is in this class. He’s sudden, dynamic. Not only has terrific straight-line speed, but also speed in and out of his breaks. The downside with him is he’s not great with contact. Not great against press. He’s not a guy who’s going to break tackles with physicality or contact balance.

“That’s what really separates him from somebody like [Purdue’s] Rondale Moore. Rondale will barrel into defenders and come out the other side. Elijah probably is going to go down if you blow on him. That said, he’s still a very dynamic type of player. He’s also very young. Just turned 21. He’s a guy who’s going to be a great third-down go-to guy, and a deep-play guy.”

Round projection: 2

Kadarius Toney

Florida

6-0, 193

Hands: 9¼ inches

40-time: 4.39 seconds

Vertical jump: 39 ½ inches

225 bench: 9 reps

Fennell’s take: “Toney was a positionless gadget player his first couple of years in Gainesville. He was a prolific high school Wildcat quarterback, but they didn’t know how to get him the ball at Florida. Everything was some sort of trick play when he was on the field. Double passes and reverses and things like that. He wasn’t a running back. He wasn’t a slot receiver. He wasn’t a quarterback.

“Last year, they put him in the slot and kept him there and he got so much better in his route-running. He’s one of those guys who plays extremely slow-to-fast. You really see his suddenness. His start-stop ability is elite. He has outstanding contact-balance. He can break tackles like a running back. You just want to get the ball in his hands, although he’s shown he can also win down the field, too. As he did against Alabama with a lot of double moves. He scored from the seam against Texas A&M. Or, if you just want to put him in the backfield and hand it to him, you can do that, too. He’s a gadgety player along the lines of Percy Harvin.”

Round projection: 2

Jaelon Darden

North Texas

5-8, 174

Hands: 8¾ inches

40-time: 4.46 seconds

Vertical jump: 35 ½ inches

225 bench: 11 reps

Fennell’s take: “He’s a little undersized, but that’s OK. He was the all-time leader at North Texas in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns. Had the third-most yards-after-the-catch in the country the last two years behind only DeVonta Smith and Clemson running back Travis Etienne. Had the second-most touchdown catches the last two years behind only Smith. So he’s a very, very productive receiver.

“He’s a yards-after-the-catch threat. You want to get the ball in his hands on the move. He can win vertically from the inside position. He’s had some drops here and there. But he’s really shifty. He doesn’t have a huge catch radius. But the way Jakeem Grant has carved out a speedy role for the Dolphins or the way Darnell Mooney ended up coming out of Tulane and being a nice piece for the Bears last year, I think Darden can do that.”