As draft season progresses, the wide receiver position will be a big focus for the Philadelphia Eagles. There are a lot of questions to be answered and decisions to be made, but one thing is for sure; the Eagles need to add a young, talented receiver early in the 2020 NFL Draft.
One name that has been linked to the Eagles is former Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.. Shenault has had an interesting collegiate career as he enters the 2020 NFL Draft. In only 9 games in 2018, Shenault had 86 receptions for 1,011 yards, and 6 scores. He also added 5 rushing touchdowns as well. However, he took a step back in 2019, only catching 56 passes for 764 yards and 4 scores, while also adding only 2 rushing touchdowns in 11 games.
Here is a scouting report and breakdown of Laviska Shenault Jr. strengths and weaknesses and potential fit with the Eagles:
Strengths: Shenault played every skill position at Colorado. They lined him up all over the field and he succeeded wherever he played. He is an extremely versatile player and that comes from his elite athletic ability.
He plays the game like a running back but has great hands and ability of a receiver. It will be interesting to see where teams want to line him up, but they will want him on the field any way they can because he is a playmaker. He succeeds as a deep threat with his speed, a slot receiver because of his quickness, and a wildcat quarterback because he can find the hole, hit it, and get into the end zone.
Offensive coordinators will drool over him because they can use him as a Swiss army knife. When he catches the ball, he will make someone miss and be a threat to score. He is thick and he lets defenders know he is by punishing them with the ball in his hands.
Weaknesses: His route running is more of a projection than anything. You have to trust your coaches and Shenault that he will develop into an NFL route runner.
A lot of his production was from simple, quick gadget plays, and basic go routes. He will need to show he can run routes to succeed as an NFL wide receiver. For that reason, Shenault may be more of a gadget player than a No. 1 receiver.
He has a worrisome injury history that cannot be pushed to the side. His medicals will be an important factor with how high he gets drafted.
As a blocker, he is not good. There are times he doesn’t even try to help out his team if he doesn’t get the ball and that is a big red flag. When he does try to block, he struggles at times, which is odd because of how physical he is. It seems more like he fails as a blocker because he doesn’t care. He will need a coach to ride him early in his career to not allow this to become an issue in the NFL.
Overall Impression: Shenault is a versatile weapon that teams will want. He is fast, explosive, and aggressive with the ball in his hands. He can play multiple positions and a team would be smart to allow that to continue in the NFL.
He will need to prove he can succeed as an NFL receiver but has a great building block to get there. His injuries are a red flag, but the biggest red flag is how many plays he takes off and his effort on plays he doesn’t get the ball.
Grade: Late Round 1, Early Round 2 (Picks 30-38)
Fit with the Eagles: Shenault would be a great weapon on the Eagles and it would be fun to watch Doug Pederson scheme up some plays for him. However, he is still a project, so patience will be key with Shenault. He will make impact plays for the Eagles in Year 1, but he will need to grow into an impact player in the NFL.
He will surely give Carson Wentz a weapon he can trust, but it is a mystery if Shenault can run good enough routes to become a No. 1 receiver. If the Eagles want him, they should be able to trade back in the first round to get him or trade up in the second round. He is not worthy of Pick 21 in my opinion because he is more of a projection than a sure thing.
