If one thing's bound to change about the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020, it's the wide receiver position. Two years after general manager Howie Roseman remade Carson Wentz's aerial weaponry by swapping out guys like Jordan Matthews and Dorial Green-Beckham for Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, the Birds are set for another pass-target makeover. Greg Ward flashed potential late in 2019, DeSean Jackson should be back in 2020, and both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert help offset wide receiver depth with production at tight end. But with Jeffery fresh off one of the worst years of his career and former Super Bowl standout Nelson Agholor all but guaranteed to head elsewhere, it'd be a shock if Roseman didn't add at least one veteran to the group in free agency.
In fact, even before Demarcus Robinson appeared in Super Bowl LIV this month, the Kansas City Chiefs reserve had worked his way onto Roseman's wish list, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. After grading him highly in the 2016 draft, the Eagles have set Robinson "in their sights" for this March, per the Inquirer's Jeff McLane. Robinson, of course, probably isn't the only name on the Eagles' radar at WR. Here are five different logical possibilities, separated by their projected price in free agency:
Elite targets
Player: Amari Cooper
Current team: Dallas Cowboys
Age: 25
If Roseman is going to make a splash, and if that splash is going to be on offense, then Cooper should be the guy. Teams will surely line up to pay the ex-Oakland Raiders star if Dallas doesn't, but no one would infuse immediate and long-term hope into the position more than him. The Eagles could conceivably talk themselves into an overpay because of how young Cooper is, and it's not as if they weren't interested in him before. NFL Network once reported they offered a second-round draft pick to try to land him in 2018.
Player: Robby Anderson
Current team: New York Jets
Age: 26
Anderson shouldn't command nearly as much as Cooper, but he also won't be cheap, considering the free agent WR market isn't overflowing with talent. The slender target is notoriously a one-trick pony, serving almost exclusively as the Jets' deep-ball specialist, but that shouldn't scare off the Eagles. If anything, it should entice them, regardless of whether Jackson is back. A bonus for Anderson: The New York veteran is a native of New Jersey and played college ball at Temple.
Mid-tier options
Player: Demarcus Robinson
Current team: Kansas City Chiefs
Age: 25
Robinson isn't exactly the burner of the bunch, but he hails from an Andy Reid offense, has flashed big-play ability for three years and posted career totals during Kansas City's title run. He's exactly the type of versatile plug-and-play piece the Eagles could add without breaking the bank and totally discarding roles for Jackson, Ward and/or Jeffery if he sticks around.
Player: Breshad Perriman
Current team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age: 26
The former Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns speedster probably represents one of the bigger boom-or-bust candidates of 2020 free agency, seeing that his ultra-hot finish to 2019 was potentially more impressive than the rest of his career put together. If the Eagles want to gamble in order to at least get speed on the field, they could do worse.
Player: Phillip Dorsett
Current team: New England Patriots
Age: 27
It's all a matter of perspective with Dorsett. If you think you can still salvage his first-round reputation, well, that's one thing. It's another to simply buy him for what he is: An occasional big-play target with plenty of experience. The ex-Indianapolis Colts starter has never locked down a permanent, full-time role, but in spot duty, he's been capable of stretching the field.