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Jordan Matthews still Eagles' Mr. Inside

Following speculation that the 6-3 receiver would be moved from the slot, he’s back to exploit more mismatches.

Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews.
Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews.Read more(Clem Murray/Staff Photographer)

GREAT SLOT receivers usually have a great quarterback throwing the ball to them.

"Most of the teams that have success in there usually are teams that have a quarterback that is extremely accurate," Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews said. "Well-focused guys like Peyton Manning. His slots usually do well. Tom Brady. His slots always do well.

"You've been able to see what Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb have been able to do. You see what Drew Brees has been able to do with Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks."

It is not my intention to besmirch the good names of Nick Foles or Mark Sanchez here. But I think we - and they - can safely agree that neither ever will be mentioned in the same breath with Manning, Brady, Rodgers or Brees.

They combined for 21 interceptions last season, which was the most in the league. Foles, who started the first eight games before fracturing his collarbone, finished 26th in completion percentage, Sanchez 15th.

Yet, Matthews still managed to flourish in the slot as a rookie, catching 67 passes for 872 yards and eight touchdowns.

He had a team-high 25 third-down receptions. He was the Eagles' most productive red-zone receiver, catching 10 passes inside the 20, six for touchdowns. The only rookie wideout in the league with more red-zone TDs than Matthews was the Giants' Odell Beckham Jr., who had eight.

When Chip Kelly selected the 6-3, 212-pound Matthews in the second round of the draft last year, he already had a very specific plan for him.

In keeping with his big-people-beat-up-little-people philosophy, he planned to plug Matthews in the slot and let him use his size advantage to create mismatches against smaller nickel corners.

The strategy couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

"Every [slot] receiver has their own attributes that give them an advantage, whether they're shorter and quicker or they're bigger and more physical," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said.

"Jordan uses his body well. I think he knows how to be physical at the line of scrimmage with guys that want to press him. He knows how to release. He's strong at the top of his routes and has really good body control when he catches the ball. I think he knows how to use his attributes to his advantage."

After Matthews' impressive rookie season, and the free-agent departure of Jeremy Maclin, there was a lot of speculation that Kelly might move him to the outside this year.

But judging from everything we've seen in OTAs, training camp and the first two preseason games, it appears Kelly is going to leave Matthews in the slot.

He may play in some occasional two-wide-receiver sets, but he'll mainly be used in "11" personnel groupings (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers).

The Eagles used "11" personnel on 66.4 percent of their offensive plays last season. Matthews played 779 snaps, compared to Maclin's 1,043 and Riley Cooper's 980.

With the arrival of first-round pick Nelson Agholor and a larger anticipated workload for 2014 third-rounder Josh Huff, and Kelly wanting to utilize running back Darren Sproles more in the passing game, it's difficult at this point to project how Kelly will rotate his skill-position people. But "11" still figures to be the Eagles' primary personnel grouping.

"I've been doing some of both [in the slot and outside]," Matthews said. "But I'm going to do whatever the coaches want me to do, man. Shoot, if they want to put me at running back, I'll go and do it."

When Kelly said last year that he planned to put Matthews in the slot where he could capitalize on his size advantage over smaller nickel corners who often resemble Bashful, Dopey and Sleepy, my first reaction was, "Geez, why didn't any other coach ever think about doing that?"

Actually, there have been a few other big slot guys, but not many. The Saints' Colston, who primarily plays in the slot and has caught 70 or more passes in seven of his nine NFL seasons, is 6-4.

But most coaches seem to prefer small and quick to big and physical in the slot. Most, but not Kelly.

"Jordan has great size and he's very intelligent, so he can figure everything out," wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell said. "There are a lot of things that go on in there with more people around. But he's fast and fearless and catches the ball well.

"I've been in offenses where we had slots that were littler guys that try and move around. But the blocking and that part of it isn't [as good with smaller slot receivers]. With him, he's just kind of the whole package that fits in to what we like to do."

Before each game, Kelly and his offensive coaches look at the potential matchups in the passing game to see which ones they might be able to exploit.

Last year, Matthews vs. the opposing nickel was almost always at or near the top of the exploitation list. The only time it wasn't was their 24-14, Week 14 loss to Seattle.

Injuries had forced the Seahawks to move one of their starting corners, 6-1, 207-pound Byron Maxwell, inside to nickel. Maxwell effectively took Matthews out of the game, holding him to two receptions for 23 yards.

That's the bad news. The good news, of course, is that Maxwell now is an Eagle.

"The best guy I faced last year is in our locker room now," Matthews said. "So I'm good."

It's not as simple as finding a 6-3 or 6-4 wideout and sticking him in the slot. Not all big receivers can flourish inside. Many don't know how to use their body as well as Matthews. Many can't deal with the heavy traffic or aren't quick enough to execute the inside option routes.

"You've got plenty of guys his size who can't do what Jordan can do," Maxwell said.

"Guys that play nickel usually are quick and nifty," said safety Walter Thurmond, who has played nickel. "You have to be able to beat the DB out of your break essentially before he beats you out of the break."

Said Matthews: "As a bigger guy, you just need to know how to use your body and get open. For the most part, whenever it's man coverage and somebody rolls down on you, it's one-on-one just like it is outside and you've got to be able to beat your man."

Blog: eagletarian.com