(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Jordan Matthews was an enigma of sorts during his time in Philadelphia. If you look at the numbers, you’ll see a very productive wide receiver who was the Eagles leading receiver while he was here. However, stats don’t always tell the whole story. What I saw with my own eyes tells me that all I need to know. I remember the drive killing drops, dropped touchdowns, and the regression we saw from year two to three.
I would’ve chosen to go a different route. I would’ve traded for Josh Gordon or signed Jeremy Maclin. But, what is done is done and the Eagles went ahead with Matthews. In their defense, options are pretty limited and they just needed to get a body in here as soon as possible. Which leads me to my positive spin.
There is no learning curve when you bring in Matthews. He knows this offense and has a good rapport with Carson Wentz. Wentz just happened to be Matthews closest friend during his previous tenure in Philadelphia. In addition to his familiarity with the offense, the signing may double good will to Wentz. It’s no secret that trading Matthews hurt Wentz on a personal level. However, Matthews was made expendable once Agholor overcame his rookie struggles and showcased himself at last year’s training camp.
So, all things considered, hear me out! Let’s just give this a chance. Eagles fans are the smartest fans in the NFL. All Eagles fans remember the same miscues that I received. We’ll all shake our heads when he makes his first drop. Let us just hope it’s not a crucial one. As much as I think Matthews is a below average receiver, maybe this could turn out to be a blessing disguise. The Eagles obviously liked him enough to bring him back. I’ll give it a chance for now; but if it fails I’ll be back here saying, “I told you so”.
