Eagles' Jalen Reagor: 'Humbling' to go from first-round pick to battling for spot

The Philadelphia Eagles spent a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on wide receiver Jalen Reagor. That experiment hasn't gone well for either party, and the 23-year-old ended last season with just 33 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns as 2021 rookie DeVonta Smith emerged as the club's top weapon at the position. 

That, of course, was even before the Eagles acquired star receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans on the opening night of this year's draft. 

As Mike Florio noted for Pro Football Talk, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stated in late July that Reagor would be "battling for a spot" in the rotation and, potentially, in the club's passing attack throughout the summer. Reagor seemed to understand the serious nature of such words when speaking following Wednesday's practice. 

"I love a good challenge. It's a humbling experience, 'cause you go from a first-rounder to you're battling," Reagor explained, per Dave Spadaro of the Eagles' website. "But I like challenges, though.

"We've got a helluva room and there is competition in there. Obviously, people have their jobs and some people don't, some people fighting. You've just got to come in and when people go down, you step up and just be ready when it's your time."

Reagor's rookie contract runs through 2023, is relatively inexpensive and carries a fifth-year option. That makes him cheap for the Eagles to keep but could also make him an asset to shop if he fails to impress throughout upcoming exhibition games. 

"I just have to keep doing it, working hard," Reagor added during his Wednesday comments. "I want to be here for the rest of my career, but it's a business. It's a business of production."

The Eagles open the preseason at home versus the New York Jets on Friday night.