With the departure of Desean Jackson this past offseason, some fans and critics alike are very skeptical of the Eagles and the state of the offense. For those of us who are wise and have yet to reach for the panic button for our team, the state of the offense may not be so empty after all. From a rookie who has so much hype since Terrell Owens and another rookie who is a Desean Jackson hybrid with a chip on his shoulder, the composite makeup of the wide receiver core is not one to be taken lightly.
How about the fact that a guy named Jordan Matthews has scouts and fans salivating at the fact that few have compared him to a former Eagle T.O.; who for a short time period was a fan favorite and made his fair share of memories with Eagles fans. Matthews will look to make many more of those memories on a much more positive note.
Matthews was constantly double teamed and some times even triple teamed by defenders during his Vanderbilt days. In fact, during his tenure at Vanderbilt, he re-wrote the record books and left an incredible legacy in the SEC. At the completion of his four year career he finished first in career receptions (262) and first in receiving yards (3759). All impressive numbers seeing as how he played in the SEC which is considered by most as the best conference in college football.
Chip Kelly took Matthews in the second round and for good reason. He was labeled as having the biggest hands in the draft and when you watch film on him you can see how those big hands made some big catches. As early as offseason OTAs began, Matthews raised quite a few eyebrows with how fast and well he had developed. Of course, for some it is easy to believe that playing against the same competition day in and day out you can almost supersede the opposing player once you learn their weaknesses.
The nest is not so empty with Maclin and Cooper as well. Maclin missed the entire 2013-14 campaign with a knee injury suffered during training camp. Before the injury, Jeremy Maclin was well on his way to being at least from a numbers standpoint being a number one receiver, even if the depth chart read differently. In 59 career games, Maclin has 258 career receptions and 3,453 career receiving yards. His numbers are also almost equal to his former counter part Jackson. This is an Eagles post so I will leave it to your own discretion to look up and compare. Maclin is the real deal for all who still have doubts about his playmaking ability.
Riley Cooper had one heck of a season last year once Nick Foles took over the reigns. Cooper after a major offseason debacle via his impaired mouth, put on one of the best seasons at the wide receiver position in recent Eagles history. Finishing with 47 catches and tallying 835 yards and averaged 17.8 yards per catch. Cooper really shined at a time when the opportunity presented itself. He looked more like the Cooper of old catching passes from Tim Tebow during his time at Florida. At 6-foot-4 Cooper was a prime target for Foles as he caught eight touchdowns last season which was the most in his four year career.
Lastly we’ve come to Josh Huff, a 5-foot-11 lightning quick Desean Jackson hybrid. Huff has a deep backstory that goes way deeper than any downfield pass that Foles can throw. After suffering abuse from his mother, Huff was looking for more than just a team and jersey; he was looking for a family.
He used his emotions to the best of his ability on the football field. It helped him get a one way ticket to the University of Oregon. Chip Kelly and the entire Oregon football team became his family. During his tenure at Oregon, Huff on film reminded me of a bug that just wouldn’t go away. He just constantly made plays and blazed by defenders with his incredible speed. At the end of his career, Huff finished with 144 career receptions and (24) touchdowns. Also averaging 16.4 yards a catch, which is much more impressive than people have given credit for. Averaging a first down per catch is never a bad quality to have.
To sum it all up, the nest is not empty! Relax people because a core of Maclin, Cooper, Huff and Matthews will be just fine. They are easily going to be targeted because of the missing link that is Jackson. Fans and critics alike will take shots all season long and you better get used to the criticism against our receiving core because you have heard it all summer but its only just beginning. Its going to be a long autumn and winter but hey its going to be great seeing the doubters and naysayers eat their words soon enough.
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