New England Patriots sign Jalen Reagor to practice squad

Former first round pick Jalen Reagor has found a new home after he was waived by the Minnesota Vikings last week.

According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, the former TCU star has landed with the Patriots and has signed on in New England was a member of the practice squad.

Here was Wilson’s tweet containing that news:

“#Patriots officially signed Jalen Raegor to practice squad.”

The 24-year-old Reagor was acquired by the Vikings a year ago in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles had drafted Reagor in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of TCU just one pick before the Vikings selected Justin Jefferson.

Reagor played in all 17 games for Minnesota last season but made only eight catches for the team, totaling 104 yards and one touchdown.

The 5-foot-11 wide receiver has not lived up to expectations as a first-round pick, especially compared to the rest of the 2020 draft class.

In his career to date, Reagor has logged three whole seasons of play and 72 receptions for a total of 799 yards. He also has four career touchdown catches, including one last season, and gains 11.1 yards per grab. Decent numbers but not what you want out of a first round pick, especially in a loaded class of wideouts.

Other wide receivers selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft include Jerry Jeudy, two-time Pro Bowler Ceedee Lamb, 2022 Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson and Brandon Aiyuk. Tee Higgins also went with the first pick of the second round of the draft and has more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons if you combine playoff and regular season stats.

So, a lot of talent was left on the board when Jalen Reagor was selected. And the pick will likely be one Eagles fans lament for years to come — not just because of the other talented players in that draft, but because of who was selected right after Reagor. As mentioned, Philadelphia picked Reagor with the No. 21 pick and the Vikings picked Jefferson one spot later at No. 22.

Jefferson has been one of — if not, the best — wide receiver in the NFL over the past three seasons. He made the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro honors all three years. He was a second-team All-Pro his first two seasons before making first-team All-Pro in 2022.