The Philadelphia Eagles are very confident in the team they have built despite all of the doubt surrounding the roster. With Sam Bradford looking better every day, the players around him are improving as well. The Eagles have lost a fair amount of talent with LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin departing over the past year. However, there are plenty of players stepping up to take their place as Jordan Matthews is emerging as a star in his second year with the Eagles.
Matthews had an inconsistent rookie season as he dealt with an injury that left him out for a portion of the year. However, with Maclin and Jackson out, Jordan is stepping up as the No.1 receiver and making Bradford's job a lot easier.
"I think that's one of the things you kind of want to go through in camp, put those guys in those situations, throw balls up, let them make plays," Bradford said, via Philly.com. "Obviously, Jordan's come down with his fair share of those. I think it's a credit to the way he works. I think that guy catches more footballs than anybody I've ever seen. His hands are really strong. It's something he's always working on. I think it's something that's really showed up out here this first week."
The Eagles have some competition at the receiver position. While Matthews is penciled in as the No.1 receiver, there is a battle for who surrounds him. Riley Cooper, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff and Miles Austin are battling it out for the other two starting spots on the field. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Agholor is impressing the most out of the other options while Huff appears to be the favorite for the third spot. While many believe that Cooper is at risk of getting released this season, his contract and the praise from Chip Kelly say otherwise.
The biggest threat to the receivers could be Zach Ertz who is quickly becoming one of the top tight ends in the league and a star for the Eagles. Ertz has been battling Brent Celek for the starting spot. Blocking will be the deciding factor for the tight ends. Celek is the better blocker, but Ertz is a matchup nightmare. According to the young tight end, he is simply focused on being the best in all areas of the position.
"Obviously, the receiving stuff, I don't want to say I'm a lot better than Brent ... but I am better than him and he knows that and we know that," Ertz said, via CSNPhilly.com. "But he's better than me at blocking right now. So I need to get to the point where I'm equal, if not better, than Brent in the blocking game. That's the mentality I've had."
