Eagles' OTA Will Focus On Wide Receiver Corp

PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — There was no great mystery what the Eagles lacked offensively last year—quality wideouts. With the Eagles beginning organized team activities (OTAs) this week, that area seemed to carry the strongest concern, aside from defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, punter Donnie Jones and offensive tackle Jason Peters not showing up to the first day of OTAs on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex.

Nelson Agholor, who's entering his third season, seemed to be of particular interest when Eagles' coach Doug Pederson met the media before the OTAs began. Agholor regressed last season, and it wasn't exactly a glowing show of confidence that the Eagles signed Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith in the offseason.

Where does Agholor fit now?

"Listen, Nelson's attitude has been great," Pederson said. "He's worked extremely hard this offseason. The addition of [wide receivers coach] Mike Groh has really sort of lit a fire with Nelson a little bit, and then the addition with [WRs] Alshon [Jeffery] and Torrey [Smith] and bringing these guys in. As I've said all along, competition, man, sharpens you. And that's what I've seen from Nelson. He's done a great job already this spring."

"The expectation is for him to compete – to compete to play, compete to start, compete to be a role player on this football team, help us win football games. That's my expectation with guys like Nelson, and really with all the team members. Just to be unselfish, but yet be disciplined and compete to play."

Where does Jordan Matthews fit, after dropping off from 85 receptions his second year to 73 catches last year, and a three-year career low 804 yards?

"Yeah, you know, Jordan has been a big part of this offense, and he is still a big part of this offense," Pederson said. "He's got a great relationship and a great rapport with Carson [Wentz], and Carson feels very comfortable with him. Getting him back out there, getting him out there healthy going forward, is beneficial to the success of our offense. He's a tremendous slot receiver. 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 the acquisition of Jeffrey and Smith, along with Matthews and Agholor, the receiver reps may be limited. This OTA then becomes extremely important when it comes to getting everyone on the same page as Wentz. Training camp is not that far off.

"Yeah, it's a fine line," Pederson admitted. "I mean, having played the position and working with new guys even in my career, it takes time. It takes time to develop, and sometimes time that you don't have with the way the offseason is structured. But these guys also worked a little bit beyond the in-house rules, so to speak, here where they were able to work on their own, work together, and even before OTAs, even before the offseason started. They have to continue that even through the summer months once they leave. But we'll get more time in training camp. That's why it's so important to get these guys and keep them together as units going through training camp and really on into preseason."