This week, the NFL scouting combine is taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, giving all 32 teams a chance to evaluate over 300 draft prospects, but also shop current players on their roster.
Outside of the ongoing Antonio Brown trade rumors, there is reportedly another AFC North wide receiver who might be on the trading block and could be of interest to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Tuesday that the Cincinnati Bengals are shopping former first-round pick John Ross. The 23-year-old wide receiver was drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft but has not lived up to expectations thus far.
However, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin denied the rumors that they are trading Ross on Wednesday at the combine.
Regardless of the Bengals’ public denial, they cannot deny that through two seasons, the speedster from the University of Washington has only played in 16 regular season games. Ross missed most of his rookie season due to injury, but rebounded this past season with 21 receptions for 210 yards and seven touchdowns.
If the Bengals were to move Ross, one does wonder what they could get in return for him. At best, Cincinnati could get a Day 3 pick for Ross, especially with a draft class loaded with speedy/vertical threat wide receivers.
If this is the case, Philadelphia might want to consider reaching out to the Bengals. It is no secret that the Eagles lacked a vertical deep threat option within their offense this past season. Veteran wide receiver Mike Wallace was supposed to be that guy playing opposite of Alshon Jeffery, but missed most of the regular season with a fractured fibula.
Then there’s also Shelton Gibson, who showed a lot of promise in the preseason, but did not do much in the regular season. With that being said, Philadelphia reportedly tried to remedy this issue at the trade deadline by offering a draft pick to the New York Jets for Robby Anderson.
The Jets declined the Eagles’ offer, leading Philadelphia to trade a 2019 third-round draft pick for Golden Tate III. Nevertheless, the Eagles will have to figure out if Ross is worth trading for among other players they might want to trade for.
The Eagles reportedly worked out Ross during the 2017 NFL draft process and even had quarterback Carson Wentz watch film of the wideout. However, do they feel that Ross is the same player they fell in love with a couple of years ago? Or can they find another deep threat either in free agency or the draft?
These are the questions that Eagles EVP Howie Roseman and the rest of the front office will have to answer over the next couple of weeks before the new league year begins next month.
