Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Eagles entered the 2014 NFL Draft needed to address a few positions. In the second round, the team took care of the wide receiver opening by selecting Jordan Matthews. He will be the team’s No. 3 wide receiver and could see a lot of production in his first season.
With the Vanderbilt Commodores, he ended up leading the SEC in receptions and receiving yards. He finished with 262 receptions for 3,759 yards and 24 touchdowns in his four years in college.
Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly already stated that Matthews will line up as the slot receiver, filling in for the departed Jason Avant. Playing behind Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper, Matthews will be single-covered most of the time which will allow him to rack up some yards.
However, Matthews fared well while being double covered. Kelly noted that Matthews made multiple catches in traffic because of his wingspan and height.
Kelly and the Eagles are a pass-first team with the emerging Nick Foles under center. The Eagles have plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Besides Maclin and Cooper, running backs LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles are excellent in catching passes out of the backfield. The team also has two productive tight ends in Brent Celek and Zach Ertz.
It may not look like there is enough ball to go around for Matthews, but that won’t be true when the season starts. McCoy will get his carries, Foles will target Maclin and Cooper on the outside. But when Foles needs to pick up a crucial first down, don’t be surprised if Foles targets the rookie.
Matthews may go undrafted in standard, 10-team leagues, which is to be expected. However, in deeper 16-team leagues, Matthews is worth a late-round selection as a part of the high-octane Eagles offense.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy sports writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @BPiv_Sports.
