Focus on Jordan Matthews this season—his numbers will likely be more meaningful than Nelson Agholor’s…
Chip Kelly said he wanted more competition at wide receiver in 2015— well, he got his wish.
Check out the competition going into the next phase of OTA action:
Name POS HT WT Age Year College
Agholor, Nelson WR 6-1 198 21 R USC
Austin, Miles WR 6-2 215 30 10 Monmouth
Ajirotutu, Seyi WR 6-3 215 27 6 Fresno State
Bailey, Rasheed WR 6-2 205 21 R Delaware Valley
Cooper, Riley WR 6-4 230 27 6 Florida
Davis, Devante WR 6-3 215 22 R UNLV
Harris, John WR 6-2 218 23 R Texas
Huff, Josh WR 5-11 206 23 2 Oregon
Maehl, Jeff WR 6-0 184 26 3 Oregon
Matthews, Jordan WR 6-3 212 22 2 Vanderbilt
Pratt, Quron WR 5-11 195 24 1 Rutgers
My goodness, that’s 11 talented guys competing for 5 or 6 spots at best!
The weird thing in my mind is that everyone’s expecting rookie 1st round pick Nelson Agholor will automatically replace the numbers of the departed Jeremy Maclin…
Maclin’s 2014 numbers: 85 catches, 1,318 yards, 10 touchdowns.
You know, it just don’t come that easy to a rookie… As good as Agholor is theoretically and physically, more often than not that rookie adjustment to NFL defenses is a here today-gone tomorrow kinda thing…
It may be more realistic to project a break-through numbers season for Jordan Matthews. Note that Kelly broke Matthews in at the slot for much of his rookie year… smart move in that Matthews was not put on the spot immediately as a vertical threat.
They gave Matthews a chance to learn the game— much like you give a top starting-pitcher prospect a few long relief appearances before you throw him into the spotlight.
Agholor should be extremely willing to run convincing decoy routes when he’s in there on offense— because that may be in the seasonal analysis of his first year what turns out to be his most important contribution.
Who beats out Riley Cooper as a starting WR in 2015? It could be Jordan Matthews… it could be Josh Huff… it could be Seyi Ajirotutu…
That scenario assumes that Miles Austin will be retained to play in the slot receiver position…
Phil Sheridan over at ESPN.com put in a plug for Riley Cooper, by the way:
“Cooper’s blocking ability is an asset in the running game, but his production dropped to 10.5 yards per reception in 2014 after Cooper averaged 17.8 yards per catch in 2013. If improved quarterback play allows Cooper to get back his big-play potential then he could wind up remaining in the starting lineup.”
Miles Austin last year in Cleveland…
Sheridan likes Miles Austin’s chances, too:
“Austin caught 47 passes for 568 yards in Cleveland last season. He will turn 31 in June. It was a bit a mystery where he will fit into Kelly’s offense this year.
“But Kelly sounded surprisingly enthusiastic about Austin after the draft.
‘“We thought Miles was obviously a talented player in the production he had with the Cowboys,” Kelly said. “But you really look at the season he had last year with his 47 catches in Cleveland and go and watch all 47 catches on tape. There’s contested balls — just a wily veteran, knows how to run routes, has outstanding hands, catches the ball away from his body, is a physical player, has both played inside receiver and outside receiver. You know, we just thought the value for getting him on a one year contract was just a win-win.”’
TOP 100 PLAYERS POLL UPDATE-–
Pro Football Reference has their own “Top 100 Players” list… although they are directly in defiance of the NFL Network list.
NFL Network has been counting down from 100. So far, running back Darren Sproles, at No. 81, is the only Eagle on the list.
The Eagles mentioned by Pro Football Reference:
Running back DeMarco Murray, is at No. 31. Defensive end Fletcher Cox (pictured), whom Chip Kelly said was the Eagles’ MVP last season, comes in at No. 46. Left guard Evan Mathis is ranked No. 59. Outside linebacker Brandon Graham, a PFF favorite, was listed as the 74th best player of 2014.
How you likin’ dem apples?
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