On Tuesday morning, the Eagles addressed a major question mark on the roster by acquiring wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham from the Tennessee Titans. In return, the Eagles sent offensive lineman Dennis Kelly to reunite with former Eagles running back DeMarco Murray in Tennessee.
Green-Beckham is a young wideout with tremendous upside, and at 23 years-old, he will see a lot of balls thrown his way. During his rookie season last year, he caught 32 passes for 549 yards, and four touchdowns. With Nelson Agholor coming off a less than spectacular year and prime target Jordan Matthews out indefinitely, the Eagles are concerned with the state of their receiving corps.
Although the Eagles also need help at offensive line with a possible ten game absence of Lane Johnson on the horizon, it may have caught some off guard that the Eagles would give up a lineman. That being said, Kelly who is a versatile player, has not shown the necessary consistency while in Philadelphia, and that says a lot that he was deemed expendable given the current state of the offensive line as a whole.
It’s no secret that the Eagles will focus on the passing attack this season. At one point, the Eagles’ receiving corps seemed to have more dropped passes registered than actual catches. Some teams have highlight tapes of their team receptions. Well, the Eagles actually had a highlight tape of all the drops throughout the season.
Excluding star tight end Zach Ertz and Matthews, the team’s eligible receivers were just down right putrid. Agholor only recorded 27 receptions in what many deemed a failure of a season. He faced heavy pressure after being drafted to replace former Eagle Jeremy Maclin.
Receiver Josh Huff also had a less than spectacular season. Dealing with injuries, and at times what seemed like hands of stone, Huff only recorded 25 catches.
In addition to Green-Beckham, the Eagles also have former New York Giant, Rueben Randle, and former Baltimore Raven Chris Givens. Randle finished 2015 with eight touchdowns, catching four in the Giants’ last four games. Randle has always had the potential, and is still fairly young at 25, but he must show consistency.
After spending time with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens, Givens has taken the one-year deal “Show Me What You Got” approach. He wants to prove he belongs with one franchise and not become an NFL journeyman.
Green-Beckham finished with more catches (32) than Agholor, who was a first round selection in the same draft. That means if Green-Beckham was an Eagle last season, he would’ve finished second to only Matthews in receptions out of all the team’s wideouts.
One thing is certain; the Eagles finally have a legit red zone threat that can win the jump ball battle. Fans have not been able to say that since the Terrell Owens days.
Green-Beckham can be a tremendous asset if he can limit his off the field issues. If Matthews and him gel well, the Eagles could have something special for years to come.