Eagles add former first-round pick to WR room

Few will argue against the Philadelphia Eagles having one of the best wide receiver duos in the entire NFL with the combination of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. But after these two, the receiver depth chart for the Eagles is full of question marks.

Currently, Philadelphia's No. 3 wide receiver spot for the 2024 season is expected to be filled by Parris Campbell, who signed with the team earlier this year after spending last season with the New York Giants.

Campbell only caught 20 passes in 12 games with the Giants last year, but he also accumulated 63 receptions for 623 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. The Eagles are hoping to get the 2022 version of the veteran wide receiver and not the 2023 version.

If Campbell is unable to emerge as Philadelphia's third receiver for next season, the team has several other options to choose from, including John Ross, who the team added to its roster on Thursday.

Ross is an interesting addition, as he was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, but he's struggled to live up to his expectations during his time in the league. His best season was back in 2019 when he hauled in 28 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns.

Since the 2019 campaign, Ross has accumulated a total of 13 catches as a member of the Bengals and Giants, and he even retired last summer after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs a few months earlier.

But he's ready to give it one last shot in the NFL, and if it doesn't work out with the Eagles, then it will probably be time for him to close the book on life as a professional football player.

Much of the intrigue that led to Ross getting drafted so high by Cincinnati in 2017 centered around his incredible speed. During the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in a mind-blowing 4.22 seconds.

His time in the 40-yard dash was the fastest ever recorded at the NFL Scouting Combine until it was broken earlier this year when Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy finished it in 4.21 seconds.

The expectations are currently low for the former first-round pick, but if he can somehow emerge as Philadelphia's No. 3 or No. 4 wide receiver during the next few months, it could potentially help improve the team's passing attack.

Even with Smith and Brown on their roster, the Eagles only ranked 16th in passing yards last season. If Philadelphia can figure out how to utilize Ross like no team has been able to in the past, it could take a bit of attention off of Smith and Brown and potentially result in one of the league's top pass-catching duos becoming even more difficult for opposing defenses to contain.