It was less than one year ago when we heard the following, “With the 42nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Jordan Mathews, receiver out of Vanderbilt.”
Was anyone else surprised by this? With their second round pick, the Eagles got an absolute steal in Matthews.He may not have been as productive as Mike Evans, or as electrifying as Odell Beckham Jr., but as a rookie, was a solid number two receiver for Philly.
Looking back at his career at Vanderbilt:
As a true Freshman, he had 15 receptions for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.
As a Sophomore, he emerged with 41 receptions for 778 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season.
However, it was as a Junior where he really should his true potential, making 94 receptions for 1323 yards and 8 touchdowns. Matthews eclipsed the 1000 yard mark for the first time in his career, but fell just six receptions short of the 100 reception milestone.
Finally, as a Senior, he became an elite receiver as he made 112 receptions for 1477 yards and 7 touchdowns. With that performance he cemented his name in the school record books and set several SEC marks.
Now back to what you really want to hear about, his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished out the season with 67 receptions for 872 yards and 8 touchdowns. By any measure this was an excellent debut, and in Chip Kelly’s offense Matthews should only improve with experience.
At 6’3″, 212 pounds, he doesn’t seem that big for an NFL wide receiver. Its decent size, but the body figure doesn’t fit the “big guys beat up on little guys” game plan that Chip Kelly mentioned to ESPN in response to releasing DeSean Jackson. What if I told you had also had a 36″ vertical? At 6’3″, you already have a pretty good sized wingspan, now you had another 3′ of distance between his feet and the ground. What I’m trying to say is, he plays bigger than what his size indicates. Add to that his soft hands, and you can see why he has been so productive.
Matthews finished 36th in the NFL in receiving yards, not bad for a rookie. He was 5th in receiving yards in the rookie class. That’s also not bad considering this is being considered the best wide receiver draft class ever. Three rookies eclipsed 1000 yards receiving, while a fourth, Sammy Watkins came in just 18 yards shy of that mark. Matthews was tied for 39th in receptions overall, but again finished 5th in this rookie class. As for receiving touchdowns, he finished tied 18th overall with a couple big names, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall. He finished 4th in the rookie class at that category.
He was held to without a reception in just one game all season. That game was unfortunately against division rival Dallas in week 15, where the Eagles lost at home 38-27.
He eclipsed the 100 yard mark three times, racking up 138 yards vs Carolina, 107 yards at Green Bay, and 105 yards at the Giants. Two of those games contributed to big wins for the Eagles.
Jordan Matthews is already becoming a force in the NFL. With Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews on the outside of this offense, the Eagles will be a terrible force to be dealt with in the near future.
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