2020 POTENTIAL BREAKOUT STARS: NFC EAST PART 2

BY ADAM GREENE

While the other divisions we’ve looked at for potential break out stars have been a blend of first-year players and young veterans, the NFC East is poised to be a near rookies-only club.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Wide receiver Jalen Reagor

(Rookie)

In spite of his lofty draft position (he was selected with the No. 21 overall pick back in April), Reagor is coming off a down season with TCU. He caught 72 passes for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018 but followed that with a 43 catch, 611 yard and five touchdown season in 2019. But Reagor is fast, running a 4.2 at his Pro Day after a “disappointing” 4.47 at the NFL Combine that would be good enough to burn 80 percent of the corners in the league.

Reagor has worked with the first team so far in camp and already impressed his quarterback, Carson Wentz.

“It’s been a lot of fun to work with Jalen. He is an explosive athlete,” Wentz told the media via a Monday conference call. “You can see that with his route-running ability and his down-the-field presence. You turn on his highlight tape and you see what he does with the ball in his hands. And that’s one thing we haven’t been able to see, obviously, with just practice going on and nothing live.”

Reagor is already penciled in as a starter alongside fellow burner DeSean Jackson and Greg Ward while Alshon Jeffery recovers from a foot injury. With a solid QB in Wentz and elite play designer and caller in head coach Doug Pederson, Reagor just has to deliver what he did for TCU two seasons ago to become a household name in Philly.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM

Defensive End Chase Young

(Rookie)

Really, who else was it going to be? Young was such an elite pass rushing prospect coming out of Ohio State that there was some real talk (ridiculous, but still) that the Cincinnati Bengals should look at taking him and grab a quarterback with a later pick. Cooler heads prevailed in Cincy, but the Washington Football didn’t complain as they added a 6-5, 264-pound freak of nature that recorded 16.5 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss for the Buckeyes last season.

With the WFT playing a pass-happy schedule this season, there’s little reason to believe Young won’t be able to pace double-digit sacks at the NFL level. Four of Washington’s first five games are against the aforementioned Eagles, the Arizona Cardinals, the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Rams. Young could have six sacks in his pocket going into their Oct. 18 game against the New York Giants while facing off against a fellow rookie offensive tackle, Andrew Thomas.

And it’s not like teams can only focus on Young. WFT’s Ryan Kerrigan is one of the forgotten warriors in the league. He was injured last year, but has recorded double-digit sacks himself four times in his nine-year career and over 8.5 sacks seven times.

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