If we’re going to nitpick, which is basically what the offseason is for, then the one glaring weakness the Philadelphia Eagles had in 2024 on the way to winning their second Super Bowl was probably at the WR3 spot behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
USA Today’s Andrew Harbaugh has a fix for the Eagles at that spot in his latest 2025 mock draft, projecting the Eagles to add an electric rookie to fill that spot with Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals headed to Philadelphia in the second round (No. 64 overall).
The Eagles might get amazing value with Royals at that spot after he battled injuries in 2024 that knocked him out of first round consideration.
From Pro Football Focus: “Royals missed the final five games of 2024 with a foot injury but still competed at Senior Bowl week despite not being fully healthy. Even in a shortened season, he remained highly productive, hauling in 58 receptions in just seven games and generating 440 of his 853 yards after the catch.”
Royals Dominated Mountain West Foes
Royals, 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, spent one season at Georgia Military College — a junior college — before playing the last 3 seasons at Utah State, where he was a 2-time All-Mountain West Conference selection.
NFL scouts got Royals on their radars in 2023 with one of the best individual seasons for a Utah State player in school history, when he had 68 receptions for 1,023 yards and 15 touchdowns in just 12 games. Despite his foot injury in 2024 and playing in just 7 games, he still put up big numbers with the 853 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.
“Jalen Royals is a dynamic play-making wide receiver with a well-proportioned NFL frame,” Bleacher Report’s Dame Parson wrote. “Royals is a good and precise route runner with short-area quickness that puts pressure on cornerbacks. He generates separation with suddenness out of his breaks against man coverage. Facing soft press or off coverage, Royals’ foot quickness puts defenders in conflict and tests their reaction time. He attacks defenders’ airspace before using sudden movements to break past or away from them.”
As a rookie, Royals might have added value to the Eagles by returning kicks and punts — something they might be loathe to have star cornerback Cooper DeJean to do in the future.
Eagles Got Surprise Performance at WR3 in Playoffs
Since the Washington Commanders traded former first round pick Jahan Dotson to the Eagles in August 2024, it seemed like there was never a time when it didn’t seem like the Commanders had absolutely gotten the best of the deal.
That was, until the postseason started.
That’s because Dotson seemed to suddenly have a knack for making huge plays once he hit the playoffs for the first time in his career, beginning with a touchdown catch in the playoff opener against the Green Bay Packers and capped with another clutch performance in the Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Dotson finished the Super Bowl with 2 receptions for 42 yards, including a 28-yard catch in the first quarter that was initially ruled a touchdown but was overturned and set up the Eagles’ first touchdown on a 1-yard run from Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
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