TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor (1) gestures after scoring a second-quarter touchdown during an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
The biggest news Monday for Minnesota Vikings fans was when it was announced the team was going to be giving an extension to quarterback Kirk Cousins, franchise tagging Anthony Harris, and resigning CJ Ham and Britton Colquitt. That was until they traded disgruntled wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for a haul of draft picks.
Diggs made it clear that he wanted out last year, although it was sometimes hard to tell with how cryptic he is on social media anyway. Diggs seemed frustrated with a lack of targets and with quarterback Kirk Cousins’ unwillingness to push the ball downfield when Diggs felt he had a chance at big plays. Rick Spielman was able to snag another first (22nd overall), a fifth, and a sixth round pick this season.
That leaves the Vikings with an even bigger hole in their wide receiver’s room. About 24 hours ago, I was pondering options for the Vikings to target in the mid to late rounds of receivers with talent and a high ceiling to possibly compete for the third receiver position. Now, I’m looking at first round options to compliment Adam Thielen without giving up more capital to move up and get the likes of Ceedee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy.
That’s where Texas Christian University’s (TCU) Jalen Reagor comes in. Reagor, a three year starter for the Horned Frogs recorded 2248 receiving yards, 22 receiving touchdowns, 324 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, both in his sophomore season. He saw a reduction between his sophomore and junior season, his receptions falling from 72 to 43, his receiving yards from 1061 to 611, and his receiving touchdowns going from 9 to 5.
Reagor participated at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, and recorded the third best overall broad jump and the fourth highest vertical jump. He also ran a 4.47 second 40-yard dash, but his three cone was a mediocre 7.31 seconds and his 20-yard shuttle was a very pedestrian 4.46 seconds.
Comparing him to Stefon Diggs, Diggs is taller at 6’0” to Reagor’s 5’11”. Diggs also ran a ever so slightly faster 40-yard dash at 4.46 seconds. Diggs ran a faster 3-cone and 20-yard shuttle, but Reagor’s vertical and broad jumps were significantly better than Diggs’. Reagor also has ten pounds on Diggs in weight.
When you watch Reagor’s tape, you see just how electric he can be. He changes directions very well with the ball in his hands and can turn on the jets at a moments notice to help him mess with defenders angles. You can also see his jumping ability in the number of balls he snatches out of the air when his quarterback gets it in a position where only he can reach it.
What impresses me most is his deep ball skills. He ran a limited route tree at TCU, but even if the defense knows what is coming, he has the speed to get behind defenders. He also varies his speed well enough to bait defenders and then step on the gas, something that Stefon Diggs is well known for. That also bodes well for his underneath routes where he has sufficiently sudden direction changes to throw off defenders waiting for him to go deep.
What concerns me most about Reagor’s game is his hands. He does a good job of catching with his hands and makes plays on jump balls. However, he doesn’t fight well in contested catch situations where the ball isn’t where only he can get it. He also has the classic problem of running before the catch. He needs to make sure he’s concentrating on making the catch before he starts making his next move.
Reagor also isn’t a plus in blocking. He’ll engage with defenders, but more often than not it’s more for show than anything. Shouldn’t be relied on to crackback or maintain blocks downfield. The blocking issue underlies a lack of physicality in his game. He’s shy to go over the middle and make tough catches where he may be hit immediately. This contributes to his drops where he’s looking for the hit when making plays in tight windows.
If the Vikings want to get Reagor, they would need to spend one of their two first round picks on him. They would also need him to fall to at least 22. This is actually pretty likely with how much high end talent there is in this draft class. However, if there is a run on receivers early, Reagor could go as high as 15 or so.
The Vikings are obviously looking to replace Diggs, and Reagor is a very good answer. He has the deep ball skills, and actually kind of reminds me of Diggs in how he can make plays in space and make defenders miss. However, the concentration drops are certainly concerning and he’ll need time to run an NFL-level route tree.
Reagor certainly isn’t the worst option, especially if he’s available when the Vikes pick at 25, but hopefully another guy like Ruggs will slip through to fill the Diggs void.
Projected Draft Position: Mid-Late First round
Best Traits: Jumping ability, Athleticism, Deep ball skills
Biggest Drawbacks: Drops, Blocking, Physicality
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To maybe mitigate some of your concerns about Reagor's blocking, physicality, and desire to go over the middle, bear in mind that when he played for us (go Frogs), he was far and away our most frequent reliable receiving option for two straight seasons. He would routinely have games with more receiving yards than the rest of the team combined. There were plenty of games where literally nothing else was working, and Raegor was our only offensive option for 2 quarters or more. His hesitation to engage contact may have been at least partially attributable to the fact that he really couldn't afford to get injured or in key circumstances, even take a play off. Just something to think about.
Thanks for the context Rob. That’s a great point. One of the faults of trying to cover so many different college players and teams means there’s almost no way to get to the details like dedicated fans can. I did notice that he didn’t seem to shy away too much from the film I watched except when it came to playing across the middle, where the most injuries for receivers happen. It is very likely that he was protecting himself for the good of his team’s bigger picture.