Done Deal: Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni Announced The Replacement Of
The Philadelphia Eagles are putting the finishing touches on their draft board ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft as they’ll be looking to add more impact players to the 90-man roster.
However, before we look forward to the NFL Draft, the Eagles made a small signing to their tight end room on Thursday, which could become a mistake. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that veteran tight end C.J. Uzomah is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Eagles.
FA TE CJ Uzomah, the former #Bengals and #Jets starter, is expected to sign a one-year deal with the #Eagles, per me and @MikeGarafolo. Uzomah, who flew to Philly today and passed his physical, should bolster their passing attack and give the offense an added weapon. pic.twitter.com/vgz3AVQzZm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 11, 2024
Uzomah will likely be the Eagles’ TE2 replacement for Jack Stoll, who signed a one-year deal in free agency with the New York Giants. On paper, the Uzomah signing looks like an upgrade at the TE2 spot for the Eagles.
But the 31-year-old tight end did little to nothing over the last two years with the New York Jets. Jets fans thought Uzomah would become an integral part of New York’s offense as he showed in Cincinnati, but that didn’t come to fruition.
Last season with the Jets, the 6-foot-5 tight end had eight receptions (12 targets) for 58 yards and a touchdown. Uzomah’s 2023 performance was a far cry from what we saw from the vet in 2022 where he had 21 receptions (27 targets) for 232 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite his recent struggles in New York, Uzomah had better stats than Stoll, who only had 20 receptions (27 targets) for 183 yards in his three seasons with the Eagles. However, Stoll was relied on for his blocking, which Uzomah will have to do this season with the Eagles.
The Uzomah signing isn’t a needle-mover for the Eagles, who have taken one-year flyers on Parris Campbell and DeVante Parker this offseason. Philadelphia hopes Uzomah can look like the tight end we saw in Cincinnati, or they will quickly move on to Albert Okwuegbunam or Grant Calcaterra.
Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles own eight picks with three in the top 53. While they’ve been able to find talent outside of Round 1, that’s still where most of the attention will be focused heading into the event.
The Eagles’ first pick will be at No. 22 and they’re hoping to land an instant starter. However, that hasn’t always been the case with their first selection. As we rank the past 10 picks in Round 1, it’s clear Philadelphia has had some ugly misses.
Ranking Criteria: Statistical production is key for most players but future upside is just as important for recent picks. Tenure matters as well since some players might be seen as busts yet were good enough to play out their contract.
10. Jalen Reagor, WR, 2020
One of the worst strikeouts for this organization happened in 2020. A receiver-rich draft, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy were the first two off the board as the Alabama products landed with the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos respectively. The Dallas Cowboys were the next to target a wideout, landing CeeDee Lamb at No. 17.
Then at No. 21 overall, the Eagles took Jalen Reagor. Ruggs is no longer in the NFL due to a tragedy off the field that landed him in prison and Jeudy never panned out for Denver. Lamb blossomed into a star but Reagor proved to be the least capable of the bunch.
He struggled with drops and was traded away after just two seasons. The Eagles should have known he was a bad pick since he was undersized and couldn’t produce at TCU in a conference where they don’t play defense. Making his failure worse is knowing they passed on Justin Jefferson, who went to Minnesota with the very next pick.
