JJ Arcega-Whiteside has been a huge source of frustration for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans since being drafted in 2019. The way he played on Saturday night only made the frustration worse.
Arcega-Whiteside dropped a sure touchdown in the third quarter with his Eagles down 30-17 to the Dallas Cowboys.
This is a brutal drop by JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Right through JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s hands in the end zone
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) January 9, 2022
He should have had that easily.
As if that weren’t enough, Arcega-Whiteside was unable to make the catch on a pass in the fourth quarter. His tipped ball ended up in Leighton Vander Esch’s hands for an interception.
TURNOVER Minshew pass off Arcega-Whiteside intercepted by Vander Esch#Cowboys 44 #Eagles 20 Q4 pic.twitter.com/P6wZbtGUyH
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) January 9, 2022
That’s brutal.
The Eagles selected Arcega-Whiteside in the second round, No. 57 overall in the 2019 draft. He entered the game with two catches for 36 yards this season, and 16 catches for 290 yards and a touchdown in his NFL career.
What’s particularly painful for Eagles fans is that DK Metcalf, Diontae Johnson and Terry McLaurin all went over the next 19 picks in 2019. Hunter Renfrow and Darius Slayton were also taken later than Arcega-Whiteside.
It’s easy to bash the Eagles now, but I have to say, I liked the pick at the time. I watched a lot of Stanford football in 2017 and 2018, and Arcega-Whiteside was a bonafide star. As a senior in 2018, he had 63 catches for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was almost automatic whenever the Cardinal got into the red zone. He towered over receivers and regularly won jumpballs in the end zone. He reminded me a lot of Mike Evans, who was a similar red zone threat and had 69 catches for 1,394 yards and 12 touchdowns the season before going pro.
Arcega-Whiteside needs a fresh start elsewhere where he could try to rebuild his confidence, if it’s not already too late for that. He’s like the Eagles’ new version of Nelson Agholor.
