Eagles' Matthews has simple focus: Catch the ball

Almost every Eagle had trickled inside the NovaCare Complex on Monday afternoon, but Jordan Matthews wasn't one of them.

The second-year wide receiver had stayed behind to work with tight end Zach Ertz, the two jogging routes behind large tackling dummies to practice catching passes in traffic. Then they moved to the JUGS machine, and Matthews stabbed balls out of the air before tossing them into a gray bin to his right.

It was only the second day of his second professional training camp, but Matthews stayed late to polish the one skill he sees as a common thread between the NFL's best receivers.

"I watch some of my favorites, the old-school guys like Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin. But I'm also watching some people in the league now, the Antonio Browns, of course Calvin [Johnson], Demaryius Thomas, those guys, A.J. Green, Julio [Jones]," Matthews said. "And there's one common denominator. The guys always finish with the ball in their hands."

Matthews said that he'll work on other things but that catching the ball is how he can separate himself this season. When asked whether he's worried about being the leading returning receiver (873 yards in 2014) for a team that released Jeremy Maclin in the offseason (1,318 yards), Matthews said he's focused on catching the ball. When pressed about the differences between Sam Bradford and former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, Matthews reverted to what could be considered his catchphrase.

"I'm just worried about catching the ball," he said, this time a smile stretching across his face.

Working out of the slot, the 23-year-old Matthews is, for now, the team's most reliable wide receiver. He admits that he could have flown under the radar while catching eight touchdowns last season and that there's a chance opposing teams will game-plan for him this season. It has happened before and he met the challenge with the same exhaustive approach he has displayed since camp began.

By his sophomore season at Vanderbilt in 2011, Matthews was being targeted by every defense in the Southeastern Conference. Josh Gattis, now at Penn State, was Matthews' wide receivers coach and could never beat Matthews to work.

When Gattis got to his office at 6:30 a.m., Matthews was already there watching film. If Gattis walked into an empty office, he'd find a notepad on his desk with scribblings about Vanderbilt's next opponent. It was Matthews' handwriting, and the receiver was already on the field working out.

"Jordan is the hardest worker I've probably ever been around," Gattis said. "He's so committed to being great and only gets better - no steps in the wrong direction."

Gattis predicted Matthews would be a top-10 receiver this season, which would bode well for the Eagles. The team parted with its best wide receiver from a season ago and spent its first-round pick on Southern California wideout Nelson Agholor. Its reliable holdovers on a reshaped offense are tight ends Ertz and Brent Celek and running back Darren Sproles, leaving Matthews as the incumbent leader at wide receiver.

But Matthews has simplified that role. He just has to catch the ball.

"Because at the end of the day, if you can't make the play, you can't play," Matthews said. "So that's always what I'm trying to do, focus on catching the ball."