Wide Receiver One of Deepest Positions on Eagles Roster

This time of the year, everyone has hope and it's easy to get excited about the new pieces that the Eagles added in the offseason.

All we can really go off of at this point is what coach Doug Pederson has to say and by the sound of it, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach thinks his wide receiving core is one of the deepest group they've had in some time.

The position has certainly changed since the end of last season, which saw guys like Bryce Treggs and Paul Turner catching passes.  

It has become one of the deepest position on the roster. There are 13 total that worked out during OTA's and minicamp. Seven have played on Sunday and two came to the Eagles in the draft; Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson. The remaining guys even offer some level of intrigue including; Greg Ward and David Watford, both who played quarterback in college.

"Well, I think the biggest thing is they're both athletes. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson stated at the start of OTA's. "Meaning you can kind of line them up anywhere and they can play and they'll be successful. These two guys being former quarterbacks have the mindset, the skill set and the athletic ability to transition into a wide receiver position."

"These guys are smart guys. They're hard workers. They're used to the ball in their hands from being a quarterback to now being a receiver. So they're used to carrying the ball and catching the ball. Both have a dynamic skill set that's been fun to watch this spring."

The addition of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith not only helped the starters but increased the depth. Jordan Matthews can now reside in the slot and isn’t relied upon to be the No. 1 wide receiver anymore, which means he should get a lot less attention this season.

"Jordan has been a big part of this offense, and he is still a big part of this offense," Pederson explained.  "He's got a great relationship and a great rapport with Carson [Wentz], and Carson feels very comfortable with him."

"He's a tremendous slot receiver," the head coach continued.  "That's kind of where I see him fitting in, even though he can play outside. It's just a matter of getting him and Carson, year two, on the same page. He's a big part of our offense."

With Matthews doing most of his work in the slot, and Smith and Jeffery occupying the outside, Nelson Agholor slides deeper down the depth chart after being the No. 2 guy most of last year.

However, Agholor has impress in the early going, and with Matthews out he has made the most of his opportunity.

"Yeah, I got to tell you, he's been explosive in there," Pederson admitted. "He's made some big plays for us in there this spring. His confidence level is high right now and [I am] excited to see him grow in that position. It's been valuable for him.

With that it should set up a pretty interesting training camp with battling for a backup and situational spot add in the rookies, Hollins and Gibson, and Dorial Green-Beckham and you have one of the most intense competitions we should see in training camp.

"It's competitive," Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said at the start of OTA's. "It's competitive, and that's a position that we needed some more productivity out of this year, and so I think we did a good job of making that a competitive room this year."

It’s why the team seems likely to keep six receivers on its opening day roster.