Colts 2020 NFL Draft Prospect: Jalen Reagor, Wide Receiver, TCU

The Indianapolis Colts need to draft a wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft. TCU’s Jalen Reagor should be high on their list.

The Indianapolis Colts have made serious strides in free agency. From adding a new quarterback, to trading for a superstar, and even shoring up the secondary, general manager Chris Ballard has been very active.

One place that still needs improvement is the wide receiver position. T.Y. Hilton is getting older, and while Parris Campbell is developing, there’s room to add more names into the fold. Here at Horseshoe Heroes, we’ve been looking at some of the receivers in the class. Check out Van Jefferson and K.J. Hamler here.

Now, we move on to a player who has similar quickness and explosiveness that Hilton has. It’s TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor. Let’s dive in to his scouting report.

Name: Jalen Reagor

Position: Wide Receiver

Height: 5’10 5/8

Weight: 206 pounds

2019 Stats: 43 catches, 611 yards, five touchdowns, 14 rushes, 89 yards

Relative Athletic Score: 5.98

Film Assessment

Route Running: Reagor will be a three level threat in the NFL. He has the speed to challenge defenders deep and keep them on their heels. Reagor has great quickness in and out of his breaks to create separation at the top of his route, and the explosiveness off of his plant foot. He has the quickness to sell an outside stem and work back across the face of defenders. His vertical stems will be difficult to defend as he can stop on a dime with hitch and comeback routes and stack corners on nine routes.

Working through contact against defenders will be his biggest question mark here. He won’t create separation with his hands at contact, but it’s something he can certainly work on. After all, he has indeed bulked up during the draft process.

Release: Reagor will win early on in his routes due to his suddenness and elite-level quickness to avoid contact. He will be able to get defenders leaning with sharp jab steps and gain initial leverage. His initial burst will help him work into his stem and have defenders playing catch up.

Hands: Reagor is overall reliable when it comes to his hands, but there are some bad concentration drops on tape, often because he has his eyes already looking upfield before the ball gets to him. His catch radius isn’t large. Reagor does catch it away from his frame and is by no means a body catcher.

Ball Skills: This is one of Reagor’s better traits. He attacks the ball on comeback routes and when he works vertically. Reagor is great at high pointing the football and makes good adjustments when necessary, even when he doesn’t have great positioning on defenders. He’s a solid tracker of the football over the shoulder as well. One knock is that doesn’t have the frame to box out defenders and win in contested spots, especially in the red zone.

YAC/RAC Ability: Reagor is a threat to score every time he touches the football. Has the burst and long speed to turn bubble screens or reverses to break away from defenders. He will often make defenders miss in space with wicked lateral agility.

Speed: It’s clear Reagor’s best fit is in an offense that wants to work down the field and pick up chunk plays. He has the explosive speed to make a defense keep an eye on him wherever he lines up. As a vertical threat, he will eat up cushion quickly when facing off coverage.

Versatility: Whether you want Reagor on the perimeter, in the slot, or even as a gadget player at times (where he can get the ball quickly), he will produce. Averaged over nine yards per touch as a runner.

Play Strength: This is a big knock, and it might not go away. Longer, more physical corners will be able to stop him in his tracks if he can’t gain initial leverage with his quickness. Luckily, due to the quickness just mentioned, it won’t happen all the time.

Blocking: He’s willing to block, but doesn’t have the initial strike or strong hands to keep defenders in his grasp.

Does Reagor fit with the Colts?

The Colts ran a lot of concepts in the short and intermediate area in terms of passing last season, and it’s unlikely they’ll stray too much from that path. The good news is that Reagor can create separation at all levels, so he can be effective in Frank Reich’s offense. It’s also important to note that with the addition of Philip Rivers, we may see this offense go more vertical at times. Reagor fits that perfectly, and his ability to track and high point the football will come in handy.

If Reagor is available in the second round, the Colts should seriously consider selecting him. He’d be great opposite Hilton, and could be used in a gadget role along with going vertical on the perimeter or in the slot.