On Friday, wide receiver Jordan Matthews was traded to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby. The move ended Matthews’ three-year career in Philadelphia as one of the team’s most consistent and productive wide receivers. In those seasons, he amassed 349 targets and 19 touchdowns, both leading the team. The second-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt not only became the favorite target for Sam Bradford in 2015, but for Carson Wentz in 2016. He suffered through dropped passes last season, but overall in three years he was a solid, efficient wide receiver.
Those 117 targets that led the team last year will need to be made up, 253 targets in total that are no longer on the team. Many new faces have joined the receiving corps since the end of last season, but there are countless guesses on what the target distribution will end up by next season’s end. Head coach Doug Pederson is also a very pass happy coach much like Andy Reid so…. Let’s delve into where most of the projected targets will go and which receiver will be Wentz’s “bullseye” in 2017.
Bullseye: Who Will Become Carson Wentz’s Favorite Target?
Alshon Jeffery
One of the most prized free agents that came to Philly this offseason was the rangy, 6’3″ Alshon Jeffery. He immediately became the number one wide receiver on an Eagles squad that was deprived of dependable ones in 2016 and for good reason. In five seasons with the Bears, he amassed 304 receptions on 531 targets and 26 touchdowns. Those numbers could have been even better, if not for the last two seasons plagued by injury and a shaky Jay Cutler and company at quarterback the last couple of years. Jeffery had back-to-back seasons of 145+ targets and 85+ receptions, both seasons resulting in 1,000 yards. Both seasons he also played all 16 regular season games.
Jeffery was already the top wideout in Philly before Matthews’ departure, but now it is very realistic for 117 targets to be coming Jeffery’s way assuming he stays healthy. If Jeffery sees the field more than he walks the sideline, he could very well have a season of 125+ targets from Wentz.
Torrey Smith
The speedster in Torrey Smith came over from the San Francisco 49ers after two miserable seasons of losing and poor quarterback play/coaching/management/all of the above. Although he showed flashes of top notch speed and number one wide receiver capabilities for the 49ers, his best years came in Baltimore with Joe Flacco. That was evident in 2013, where he was targeted 139 times, caught 65 passes and went over 1,000 yards.
The 28-year-old veteran may now be best suited as a number two but his speed is still blazing fast up the sideline. It seems likely that if he and Jeffery are on the field at the same time, Jeffery will get most of the targets but Smith has a role carved into this offense that will help him generate looks. If Dorial Green-Beckham can get 74 targets from Wentz, Smith should easily amass 80-90 targets and lots of receptions.
Zach Ertz
The Eagles starting tight end has surprisingly and quietly became a top weapon in the Eagles offense under both Chip Kelly and Peterson. In fact, the only Philadelphia receiver over the last three seasons who had more receptions and targets than Ertz was Jordan Matthews. While his numbers and play haven’t jumped off the field just yet, his last two years has seen him rack up over 100 targets and eclips at least 75 receptions in each season. Ertz never fully got a rapport with Bradford after playing with him for just one season before the latter was dealt. Wentz was still getting accustomed to the offense and building chemistry with Ertz himself last season (which came to fruition against Dallas to end the season with 139 yards receiving and two touchdowns).
Despite the issues, Ertz still performed while also missing some games due to injury. All the talk has been on the new wide receiver additions in Philly, but watch out for Ertz. He already has a year working with Wentz under his belt, ever growing chemistry between the two and a 6’5″, 250-pound frame to become Wentz’s safety valve next season. Ertz is one of the team’s most underrated pass catchers on the roster and should hog up more than 106 targets next season.
Darren Sproles
Entering his fourth season in Philadelphia, Sproles has been one of the most reliable passing options on the whole team. He ranked fourth on the team with 71 targets and was one of the few Eagles selected to the Pro Bowl, mainly because of his stellar return game attributes. Sproles should start the season as the team’s passing down running back at least. Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich have many plays in the playbook designed for Sproles and his speed and elusiveness still make him a reliable check down for Wentz. If he stays healthy again like usual, his targets could rise above 80.
Wild Card: Nelson Agholor/Mack Hollins/Shelton Gibson
With Wentz in year two and Pederson running a high passing volume team, all signs point to more passing this year than the previous year. This could mean newfound opportunities for unproven wide receivers who should expect fair shares of targets.
Gibson was the team’s fifth round selection in this year’s draft and has been slowly finding his way in practice. This showed in the first preseason game against Green Bay where he only caught two passes on seven targets. There is still lots of time to get a hold of the offense and see the field more, but at this point he may not see many targets next season.
Hollins has been a pleasant surprise so far in training camp. By the first preseason game, he was consistently running good routes and catching all balls thrown to him. This all showed against Green Bay, where he caught four of five targets for 64 yards and a 38-yard touchdown. It’s possible his strong performance influenced the dealing of Jordan Matthews, but either way if Hollins continues his strong start, he will see ample time on the field and good looks from Wentz to start.
The real wild card here is Agholor. The former first round draft pick has been an immense bust thus far in Philadelphia, with only 59 receptions on 114 targets and three touchdowns in two seasons. His off-the-field issues haven’t helped his case on staying with the team much longer either. All signs point to a bounce back year, though, because most reports to this point is a revamped and fresh-minded Agholor has shown up to camp. He has looked very good as a slot receiver and his strong camp began the talks of a potential Matthews trade.
Even with his many struggles last season, he still received 70 targets so with Matthews gone his usage out of the slot should be even higher. If he performs like he has in camp in a regular season game, the Matthews trade will be supported even more and Agholor will hopefully carve a role on the team. Boding he is healthy and motivated, he should see upwards of 80-90 targets potentially out of the slot. Nevertheless, Agholor is still unproven and essentially has this year to prove it or lose it.
Who Will Be the Most Targeted Receiver?
Even though there are many new faces in the receiving corps and some look more promising than others to be the most targeted receiver, this role will go to Ertz. It seemed like chemistry issues and minor health issues have been his problem thus far with the team but those should all dissipate this season. He should become Wentz’s favorite target, much like a Delanie Walker for Marcus Mariota or a Travis Kelce for Alex Smith. Ertz may or may not perform like those top tight ends but expect volume and attention on offense like both. Ertz will get 120+ targets this season and add a new dimension in the Eagles passing game.
