The Philadelphia Eagles have question marks at several positions right now and one of them is wide receiver. Not only is the wide receiver corps suspect, the Eagles receiving corps could be the worst in the league. Pro Football Focus (PFF) posted an article in which they ranked every wide receiver corps, including tight ends. The Eagles ranked at 29 out of 32 teams. They only ranked that high because of the two tight ends, Zach Ertz and Brent Celek. If it weren’t for the tight ends, the Eagles wide receiving corps might have ranked even lower on PFF’s rankings.
Philadelphia Eagles Receiving Corps Could be the Worst in the League
Although the Eagles receiving corps is one of the leagues worst, there is a bright spot and his name is Jordan Matthews. The Vanderbilt product is entering his third season in the league. His first two were far from disappointing. Matthews has posted back to back eight touchdown seasons. He also saw his number of receptions rise to 85 last season. Most of Matthews’ work comes out of the slot. He uses his size to his advantage against smaller corners who cover slot receivers. Another season with short pass hero Sam Bradford should only see Matthews’ numbers rise. Matthews is the only reason that the Eagles receiving corps isn’t by far the worst in the NFL.
Poor Drafting
The reason the Eagles are stuck with this lackluster receiving corps is because of poor drafting the past several years. Nelson Agholor was not a bad pick at 20th overall last year because he was projected to be a very good talent. Unfortunately, he has not turned out to be a great player yet. He also hasn’t showed signs of becoming one either. The 2014 draft is the main reason for this receiving corps being an absolute joke. In the second round Philly selected Jordan Matthews, which turned out to be a great pick.
Everything went south in the next round when Chip Kelly’s friend from Oregon, Josh Huff was taken by the Eagles. Huff is a pretty decent kick returner, however, he might be the worst receiver in the entire league. He has 35 career receptions, which Jordan Matthews doubled in his first season alone. I know a third round pick is not suppose to be the next Calvin Johnson but Huff hasn’t even come close to being a consistent offensive weapon. The worst part about the Huff pick is that Martavis Bryant and John Brown were still on the board. Bryant and Brown have already done way more in their first two years, even though Bryant has trouble staying on the field because of weed. Josh Huff has great speed. However he has been a bust of a pick considering better options were still on the board.
Wheres the Effort?
Now, not every receiver can be as good as wide outs like Antonio Brown or Julio Jones. If you play in the NFL is it really that hard to give maximum effort on plays where you know you won’t touch the ball? First year Eagle, Rueben Randle, would be cut for his effort in the Eagles first preseason game if it wasn’t for the Eagles receiving corps already being so bad. Nothing is worse than seeing someone who is being paid a lot more than most give terrible effort on the job. Eagles fans probably wouldn’t mind seeing Randle be released before the season starts even though you won’t find someone more talented than him on the market. This is just another reason for the Eagles receiving corps being one of the worst in the league.
Can’t Catch the Ball
Both the draft and effort are two of the main reasons that the Eagles’ are so weak at wide receiver. However, neither of these things would be major issues if it wasn’t for the biggest issue the Eagles receivers face. The Eagles led the league in drops last season, and it was so bad that someone actually spent the time to make a video featuring all the drops. If the receivers could just catch the ball, articles like this one wouldn’t be written. Of course, the drops can be attributed to the receivers not being very good. This would make you wonder why the team would spend valuable picks on these players. If the drops weren’t such a huge issue last season; the Eagles would’ve made the playoffs by winning the weak NFC East.
It Doesn’t Look Like This Season Will be Much Different
If you ask Eagles fans what the most painful part of last season was most of them will tell you that it was the receivers, excluding Matthews. This season will not be much prettier as the team didn’t do much to improve at the position. Players like Chris Givens and Rueben Randle are not what you call “game changing receivers.” Poor drafting, minimal effort, and drops leave the Eagles wondering what they can do to improve their wide receiver corps. Until the organization’s drafts and free agent signings at wide receiver improve; the Philadelphia Eagles will continue to have one of the worst receiving corps in the league.
