Jalen Reagor didn’t deserve the hate he got from Eagles fans

There’s a ritual that often plays out when an Eagles first-rounder fails to fulfill the expectations that come with being a top draft pick.

Jalen Reagor’s two-year torture in Philadelphia and the wide receiver’s inevitable end Wednesday was just the latest incarnation.

Initially, there is ire directed at those responsible for the selection. Then, as the player’s struggles mount, he becomes more the target, especially if he doesn’t publicly handle the pressure well. Ultimately, there will come a point when most just want the saga over, and whatever the team gets in return, few will care about the original investment.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Eagles Roster 2022

Reagor’s trade to the Vikings may be spun as a win-win for both parties. He gets a fresh start with a new team, and the Eagles get something — a 2023 seventh-rounder and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick that could drop to a fifth — for a player many just wanted out of Philly.

But there are no winners here, at least at this moment, even though most want to look forward with optimistic blinders.

Reagor was a victim of being drafted not only too high, but just a pick before Justin Jefferson. That he now will be teammates with the former LSU receiver may be viewed as a cruel twist, but he likely welcomes the opportunity to operate without the vitriol he endured from social media and even a few sickos at Lincoln Financial Field.

Booing is one thing, and he heard his share of that, but no one should have to hear some of the disgusting barbs that were aimed at Reagor last season, merely for not catching a football. Who knows what might have been said — or thrown — had the playoff game against the Bucs in which he muffed a couple of punts not been played in Tampa?

“It wasn’t too much fun for Reagor,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said. “He had a hard time. … He was one person who always put his head down and worked. I always respected him. He never really complained. He was just here to get better. He tried.

“It’s never easy when you’re [drafted] in the first round and you don’t do what everybody exactly expects, especially in a city like Philadelphia.”

While the attacks on Twitter or Instagram likely were more prominent, and mostly anonymous, most fans don’t allow their fanaticism to become unhinged. Reagor also could, at times, be his own worst enemy and would respond to the haters.

But it’s not as if he chose himself with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft. It was a receiver class that was billed to be among the best in NFL history. Some analysts had Reagor going late in the first round, most after. He was a speedster in college, but he ran a disappointing 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the combine.

He said he put on too much muscle and later clocked a faster time as his pro day. The Eagles had been burned by the JJ Arcega-Whiteside second-round pick a year earlier. He was chosen for his size and supposed ability to win in the air, but he couldn’t get separation at the next level.

» READ MORE: Eagles trade for Saints safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on cut-down day; release Anthony Harris

The Eagles emphasized the need for outside speed a year later. The coaches viewed Jefferson as primarily a slot receiver, and in then-coach Doug Pederson’s scheme, the slot wasn’t a volume receiver. But there were Eagles scouts who projected him to be effective in any role.

General manager Howie Roseman, though, sided with the coaching evaluation and saw Reagor as a Tyreek Hill-type burner. Not only was he wrong about both receivers, but he placed too much emphasis on scheme fit.

Roseman, of course, isn’t the only GM to miss wildly in the first round. He has had his ups and downs in the drafts over the years, but selecting receiver DeVonta Smith in the first round just a year later and moving on from Reagor after just two years does suggest a willingness to learn from his mistakes.

He probably held on to Arcega-Whiteside a year too long. And there have been other examples when Roseman has clung to personal favorites. But he has become a master at turning a cloud of his own creation into a silver lining, or at least one that minimizes the damage.

The Eagles really didn’t get much in return for Reagor. How could they, considering his film from his first two seasons and his remaining salary? There’s still a fair amount of dead money the team will have to eat from his contract. Some may claim the millions he has earned make him fair game.

But Roseman wins the outside perception of this trade. He’s had, on paper, a strong offseason and many would rather focus on the promise of the coming campaign. In trading Reagor a day after the final roster deadline, Roseman avoided having to answer questions about the draft error.

He also was able to slip in the release of linebacker Davion Taylor, who was chosen just two rounds after Reagor, only minutes after the trade was officially announced. Taylor was another mistake in which too much emphasis was placed on raw speed.

Reagor was fast, but it didn’t translate to the field, or at least not enough to offset what he lacked in other areas. He had some obvious ability, but he wasn’t a consistent route runner. He was an unreliable punt returner. There were questions about effort.

He seemed to lose his confidence with each passing game. If he had been a sixth-rounder like Quez Watkins, maybe there would have been more patience and a chance to develop without the glare.

He was projected to be no more than the Eagles’ fifth receiver this season, and any other returner may be an upgrade. Maybe he’ll flourish in another city without the weight of the draft on his shoulders or the irrational criticism this team’s passionate followers can sometimes inflict on their own.

The cycle is complete, and if what’s past is prologue, Reagor won’t be the last to suffer such a fate.