Steelers Target ‘Underrated’ TCU WR Jalen Reagor
INDIANAPOLIS — With an unsettled roster situation entering the free agency period, the Steelers could look in a number of different directions when it comes to their second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
If they decide not to sign free agent Bud Dupree, outside linebacker could be an option. If they don’t exercise their contract option for Vance McDonald, perhaps Kevin Colbert and company will lean toward tight end. Defensive tackle Javon Hargave seems almost sure to move on, leaving a hole there, and there’s the possibility of a veteran offensive lineman like Ramon Foster being a salary cap casualty.
All told, they could go almost any direction, with quarterback being the lone probable exception.
But the draft might be taking the Steelers toward wide receiver, where the team has at least a marginal need for depth and some added playmaking ability alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington. Furthermore, the 2020 Draft class is considered exceptionally deep at the position.
As a result, the Steelers have been talking to wide receivers at the 2020 NFL Combine, and one of them has been TCU’s Jalen Reagor. Reagor confirmed to Steelers Now that he had a formal interview with the Steelers on Monday night and the interest makes a lot of sense.
Reagor, a 5-foot-11, 206-pound wide receiver from Waxahachee, Texas, checks a lot of familiar boxes for Steelers prospects.
He’s a college junior, which the Steelers have repeatedly prioritized. He played against big-time competition in the Big 12, and furthermore, he’s the son of former NFL defensive lineman Montae Reagor.
Reagor showed explosive playmaking ability in his three seasons at TCU, averaging over 15 yards per catch in his collegiate career. Of his 148 total receptions, 22 of them were touchdowns. Reagor also flashed ability out of the backfield, averaging 9.3 yards per carry on 35 career rushing attempts
“I’m a big play waiting to happen,” Reagor said when asked to describe his game. “I’m very versatile. I can make something happen in situations where you might not think I can. I’m coming to make an immediate impact wherever I go.”
He compared himself to San Francisco 49ers 2019 rookie Deebo Samuel, citing Samuel’s versatility and big-play ability. Samuel was taken with the 36th pick in the second round a year ago, and Reagor is being projected in a similar vein.
Some of the concerns with his game include his limited positional alignments at TCU. Reagor primarily only worked on the right side of the field for the Horned Frogs and did not show an entire route tree on his film. But he says he has the ability to do more than he showed, he was simply doing what the offense needed him to do.
“That’s where the offense primarily wanted me to be, but I knew the whole offense: X, Y, H, Z, so wherever I needed to be, I can play it,” Reagor said.
The other issue with him has been some consistency. TCU’s offense struggled as a whole in 2019 and his Reagor’s overall numbers dropped from his sophomore season to his junior year.
That’s left him toward the middle of the second round, according to most evaluators, and that could bring him within range of the Steelers’ first pick. Samuel proved that he was probably under-drafted with a 950-yard, six-touchdown rookie campaign. Reagor thinks he’s better than his projections, as well.
“I’m underrated, he said. “That’s fine. … That doesn’t bother me.”
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