Jordan Matthews set to play in opener even after missing preseason

Jordan Matthews never missed a football game in his life until he sat the entire preseason with a knee injury. All along, he was confident he would return for the season opener. And in the days before the Eagles host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the coaches can comfortably prepare knowing they will have their No. 1 wide receiver back on the field.

Matthews' return bolsters a wide receiving corps that lacks experience - and production - outside of Matthews, who fell three yards shy of 1,000 yards last season, when he led the Eagles in receiving. Matthews could play an even bigger role in the offense this season because he will not be confined exclusively to the slot, although the team's overall snaps will likely decrease.

"Obviously, you do have to get in and get the feel for it, but all my preseasons that I had, it's never been like a shock to get in and going," Matthews said of returning from the bruised knee. "So I'm looking forward to it."

Matthews played with five quarterbacks in high school in Alabama and six quarterbacks at Vanderbilt. Carson Wentz will be the fourth quarterback he has played with in three years with the Eagles. So Matthews is used to change at the position. However, he admitted his best production came when he had Bachelorette winner Jordan Rodgers at Vanderbilt for consecutive seasons.

During Sam Bradford's 17 months with the Eagles, Matthews was perhaps his staunchest advocate. Matthews was outspoken about his desire for Bradford's return to continue the chemistry they built last season. Matthews understood why the Eagles made the trade, and he is similarly effusive about his belief in Wentz.

A strong connection could help Matthews reach the 1,000-yard plateau. Matthews finished with 997 last season and lamented drops at the end of the year. If he caught any of those five passes, Matthews could have become the 14th player in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards. He will have the opportunities to do so this season, although Matthews sounded unconcerned about it.

"I don't really like to talk numbers," Matthews said. "The funny thing is . . . when people are like, How many yards do you want this season, I say, '3,000.' Because if I go into a game [with the goal] that I want to get 1,000 yards this year - well, what if I can get 1,600? Why would I shorten myself?"

But those are numbers Matthews would need to reach to match his contemporaries. Matthews arrived in the NFL as part of the loaded 2014 wide receiver class. He has the sixth-highest receiving yardage total of anyone in the class during his first two years, but eight have already topped 1,000 yards in a season: Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry, Kelvin Benjamin, and John Brown.

Matthews pays attention to his peers, but he said he does not compare. He watches film to see what they do. Beckham, Robinson, and Landry are players he has recently studied. Matthews routinely mixes other receivers' film in with his game-planning preparation. On Thursday morning, he watched Larry Fitzgerald film from last season. He wants to learn from their play but not obsess over their production.

"The worst thing you can do ever in this game is compare," Matthews said. "You start comparing, that's the beginning of unhappiness. Because the situations are different. You have guys who have crazy numbers in one system and then go to another place and you never hear from them again. So you just have to look at your situation and make the best of it. I feel like I'm in a good one, so I'm excited about it."

He'll be counted upon to be the leader at his position. At 24, Matthews joins Josh Huff as the oldest players in the receiving corps afer the Eagles released veterans Rueben Randle and Chris Givens. Matthews said he took on the role of teacher while he was inactive.

He has quickly grown into a respected figure in the rest of the locker room, too. Only 15 players have been with the Eagles longer than he has, so he's a veteran in his third season. He has entered seasons with wild expectations and is now entering one in which he knows expectations are tempered.

Don't count Matthews among those who will temper them.

"It's exciting for me to go into the season right now - nobody's talking about us, nobody respects us," Matthews said. "Great. I [couldn't] care less. The facts are we've got to go out there, line up, and go play football. That's the most exciting part to me."

Wide receiver Bryce Treggs missed practice with a knee injury. Defensive end Vinny Curry was limited with a knee injury.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm