Bowen: Bradford eager to work with young receivers

W HEN DOUG Pederson decided to go very young at the wide receiver position, cutting the two most experienced members of an already youthful group, the Eagles' coach prioritized potential over past production.

Quarterback Sam Bradford said he didn't have a problem with that Monday - even though Bradford probably won't be a part of whatever future Pederson is building toward.

"Maybe it did surprise me a little bit," that Rueben Randle and Chris Givens didn't survive the roster cutdown from 90 to 75, Bradford said. "I feel very comfortable in the guys that make up that corps right now. I think they all bring something a little bit different to that group."

But, Sam, 24-year-old Jordan Matthews is the only guy left there who has double-digit NFL starts.

"Sometimes as a quarterback, you like that, though. You can mold them a little more. They're eager to learn. They want to listen," Bradford said. "Sometimes it's easier to take control of some of those guys, as opposed to an older, veteran receiver. I've really enjoyed everyone in that room, and it's going to be fun."

So, Givens and Randle are out, and from what we've seen and heard, Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Dorial Green-Beckham and probably Paul Turner are in, with an outside chance that somehow the brain trust values Marcus Johnson, Cayleb Jones or David Watford over Turner.

Matthews and Huff are third-year players, Agholor and Green-Beckham second-year, and the fifth guy is going to be an undrafted rookie, unless there's another signing or trade. Pederson was asked Monday how he weighs what someone has done - say, Randle's 128 catches for 1,735 yards and 11 touchdowns the past two seasons - against what someone with no NFL résumé is showing in preseason.

"That's a fine line," Pederson said. "Obviously, there's a lot of history and a lot of film on those players, and a lot of circumstances. It can just come down to who is performing right now . . . You want guys that are all on board and doing things right, and at the end of the day you've got to make tough decisions."

Pederson said one consideration was giving the vets a chance to catch on elsewhere as soon as possible. He also talked about the long term.

"A lot of times, when you look at your roster as a whole, and if you can build with youth and begin to sort of shape your team in a certain direction, you feel comfortable with your top three or four guys and then it all comes down to that fifth spot, particularly in that receiver room," he said.

The fifth spot wasn't going to go to a potentially unhappy vet, who'd imagined a much bigger role.

The fan favorite there definitely is Turner, the Eagles' leading preseason receiver, with 11 catches for 99 yards.

"My thought process was only to continue to focus on what I can control," Turner said, when asked what he was thinking as the cutdown loomed. "Let the coaches and GM do their job."

Turner, 5-10, 193, wasn't even the leading receiver at Louisiana Tech last season, but here he is.

"I've always felt like I've had the ability to play, and I do feel like I can play at this level," Turner said. "It's all about making the best of whatever opportunity you get."

Randle and Turner are friends and former LSU teammates, before Turner transferred.

"It's just the way the game goes. Some guys are here, and then, some guys are gone," Turner said. "You just know that you gotta keep moving and keep doing what you're supposed to be doing. You could be here today and gone tomorrow."

If there is a fan unfavorite right now, it would be Agholor, the 2015 first-round pick who was expected to establish himself as a starter in this preseason. Agholor has just two preseason catches, for 30 yards. His most memorable play Saturday night against the Colts was when he turned too late to track the ball and ended up batting a Bradford pass to the Colts' Darius Butler.

Clearly, though, the Eagles are committed to Agholor, as both Pederson and Bradford made clear Monday.

Pederson said Agholor is "right on track where he needs to be" and won't play Thursday in the preseason finale.

"Every day he comes out here and he puts in a quality day's work and he works extremely hard," Pederson said. "And I've seen what he can do in practice. Is there the occasional drop here and there? Yeah. But you know what? What he did after the drop - you probably didn't notice, the blocking he did down the field, the things he did away from the ball . . . Obviously, yeah, catching the ball is No. 1, but we pride ourselves in being physical in the run game, and blocks down the field. And the things he did in this football game put him in a really good position going into the regular season."

Bradford said that last week in practice, Agholor "was noticeably different on the field. It looked like he was playing at a different speed. His intensity was probably as high as I've seen it. It was probably the best week of practice I've ever seen from him. I think he can continue to grow, and I think he can be a valuable piece in this offense."

Bradford also said "the effort (Agholor) gave in the run game (Saturday), the effort he gave downfield blocking for (other) receivers, it was tremendous. It was probably the best I've seen from him."

Agholor said he realized, after review, that he wasn't ready for the pass because he put too many moves into the route.

"I made 'man' moves, and they were actually in a zone," which made the moves superfluous, Agholor said. "All of those stair steps made my eyes and my hands not be in the right place to receive the football at the right time."

Axing Randle and Givens clearly means the Eagles are counting on Agholor to develop. Blocking is nice, even important, but it isn't why a receiver is drafted in the first round.

"I have a responsibility, because I will be a guy that's out there," Agholor said. "In my mind, my number's going to be called multiple times, and I need to answer the phone . . . This is a different type of pressure for me now. This is a pressure that I accept from my teammates, and for my team. This is an opportunity that I need to take advantage of, for my team and what we need to do."

@LesBowen

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