April 11, 2022
The Philadelphia Eagles have unsuccessfully tried to sign or trade for an assortment of veteran receivers this offseason, and they very well may continue to try to add one. Here's what's left on the trade front, and whether it's a good idea for the Birds to have interest, or not.
A trade for Metcalf has been a fun topic for debate on the radio and in print, but it's not at all realistic. The Seahawks would be looking for major draft resources in return, and Metcalf would be looking for a new contract similar to the ones recently signed by Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and Stefon Diggs. A look at this offseason's elite WR movement in the NFL:
| Player | Trade compensation | New contract |
| Davante Adams, Raiders (29) | 1st round pick (22nd overall) and a 2nd round pick (53rd overall) in 2022 | 5 years, $140 million ($28 million AAV) |
| Tyreek Hill, Dolphins (28) | 1st round pick (29th overall), 2nd round pick (50th overall), 4th round pick (121st overall) in 2022, plus 4th and 6th round picks in 2023 | 4 years, $120 million ($30 million AAV) |
| Stefon Diggs, Bills (28) | Re-signed with the Bills | 4 years, $96 million ($24 million AAV) |
Metcalf is four years younger than any of those three receivers. As such, the Seahawks would be justified in asking for even more in trade compensation than the Packers and Chiefs received in return for Adams and Hill, respectively. Metcalf is also heading into the final year of his contract, and he'll no doubt want to be be paid like Adams, Hill, and Diggs.
If the Eagles were to trade away their draft pick war chest to acquire Metcalf, it would potentially prohibit them from adding a quarterback who can actually maximize his talents, and he would also deplete their already limited spending ability.
But beyond all that, the Eagles didn't draft Metcalf in the first place because they had concerns with his neck, which required surgery in 2018. Those concerns could very well still persist, especially if they were to consider such a major investment.
Verdict: 👎
The Eagles could really use a tough receiver with some YAC ability to complement the smoothness of DeVonta Smith and the speed of Quez Watkins. They also made several attempts this offseason to acquire slot receivers, notably Christian Kirk and Allen Robinson.
Shenault is a tone-setting, angry-running receiver who likes to dish out punishment to defensive backs who try to bring him down. Pro-football-reference.com had Shenault down for 10 broken tackles after receptions in 2021. By comparison, Smith, Watkins, and Jalen Reagor combined for 8 all season. Take four minutes to watch his fun highlight reel with the Jaguars. (You'll have to click "Watch on YouTube" to see it because NFL video embeds are disallowed for some moronic reason.)
When Shenault was a prospect coming out of college, there were concerns about his injury history. However, so far in the NFL he has only missed two games in two seasons, and he played all 16 games in 2021. His career numbers, playing in an awful Jacksonville offense:
| Laviska Shenault | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2020 | 58 | 600 | 10.3 | 5 |
| 2021 | 63 | 619 | 9.8 | 0 |
Shenault has also been used as a runner. He has 29 career carries for 132 yards (4.6 YPC).
So why would the Jaguars trade him? Well, they acquired Christian Kirk (4 years , $72 million) and Zay Jones (3 years, $24 million) this offseason. At that money, those guys are going to start along with 2021 leading receiver Marvin Jones. They also added Evan Engram, who is really more of a big slot receiver than he is a traditional in-line tight end.
If I were running the Jags, I'd be looking to move Jones, not Shenault, and building with younger players. However, it has been reported that Shenault is on the trade block and, well, the Jaguars are stupid, so there's always that.
It's also probably worth mentioning that Shenault was drafted in the second round by former GM Dave Caldwell, who now works for the Eagles.
So what would the cost be? I think he's worth a third-round pick, perhaps the one at the back end of the third round that the Eagles acquired from the Saints? Oh, and if Doug Pederson wants Jalen Reagor as well, he can have him.
Verdict: 👍👍👍
Boykin was a third-round pick in 2019. He has fantastic size and athleticism measurables:
Unfortunately for the Ravens, those traits have not led to on-field production at the pro level. In three seasons in Baltimore, Boykin has 33 catches for 470 yards and 7 TDs. In 2021, a number of receivers passed him on the depth chart and he only had 1 catch for 6 yards.
Boykin is reportedly on the trade block:
Execs from multiple teams tell me @Ravens seeking to deal WR Miles Boykin, a 3rd rnd pick in '19. Need cap space and have drafted slew of WR in recent years. Boykin fully healed from freak weight room finger injury from 2021. Had excellent combine and strong metrics. Deal likely
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 10, 2022
Boykin had some nice moments and showed promise in Eagles-Ravens joint practices in Boykin's rookie season in 2019. It wouldn't take much to get him.
Verdict: 🤷♂️
And finally, there's Harry, who's been involved in trade rumors for, like, two years now. He has a base salary of around $1.9 million, with around $700K in guarantees. Reagor has a fully guaranteed $4,236,065 in salary left on his deal. If the Patri*ts wanted to take Reagor off the Eagles' hands and see if they can make something of him, I'd be willing to eat Harry's $700K in guarantees and take a look at him in training camp.
Verdict: 🥱
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