Missed this one over the weekend, but it’s worth sharing today.

Over at the Eagles website, Dave Spadaro wrote a story called “How will the WR picture look when 53-man roster is complete in September?”, which contains an interesting passage on the much-maligned Alshon Jeffery:

The plan is for Alshon Jeffery to be a major part of the offense as he recovers from his Lisfranc injury. He has to complete his rehab, of course, and Jeffery is in the course of doing so. The Eagles have made sure this offseason to get the word out that Jeffery is being counted on and Roseman has had conversations to that extent with having No. 17 in the picture. A healthy and fully focused and hungry Jeffery would be a huge boost for the offense. He eats up defensive backs and the Eagles are fully aware that the last complete game Jeffery played was at Miami, on December 1, and he caught nine passes for 137 passes and a touchdown. He was dominating. Having Jeffery back all the way is an important piece in the offensive puzzle for 2020.

It’s true that Alshon was rolling in that Dolphins game, but in the three prior he combined for eight receptions for 138 yards and zero touchdowns. At his very best, he can be a jump ball and possession receiver, which gives you some tight window options on intermediate and sideline routes. He’s also 30 years old, not very fast, and on the back-end of his career.

Still, if you look at the pieces around him, Alshon is somewhat unique in the skill set he brings to this team. If DeSean Jackson, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Marquise Goodwin, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins are smaller and speedier, or work from the slot, then really Alshon is the only proven, bigger-bodied possession receiver. The hope should be that J.J. Arcega-Whiteside steps into Alshon’s role at some point, which would allow you to move on from Jeffery and his $15 million cap hit, which right now eats up about 8% of the total salary cap.

Of course, it’s a Spadaro piece on the team site, so take the blurb with a grain of salt. After drafting a bunch of receivers in April, I’d be stunned if Jeffery is still on the roster when the regular season begins.

We’ll see!