By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Through two weeks, the Eagles defense has been impressive while the offense has been anything but. Sam Bradford and company have struggled to push the ball up the field and put points on the board.
And while worrying about the offense's lack of production is certainly warranted, it is also worth noting there a few guys who have yet to step on the field with the ones, but who have the opportunity to make a major impact over the course of the season.
The obvious name that comes to mind is Jordan Matthews. The Eagles leading receiver a season ago has missed the first two preseason games with an injured knee and isn't expected to hit the field until the start of the regular season. Although his limited experience playing in Doug Pederson's offense, the coach seemed confident with Matthews's chemistry with Bradford.
"Any time a good player is not in your offensive or defensive structure," Pederson noted of Matthews extended absence. "It's difficult because you're working on some timing things and different routes and combinations during the course of the week. But, these guys have played together now the last year and really sort of have a good understanding with one another."
When paired with Zach Ertz, the duo will give the QB a couple of reliable targets over the middle of the field.
Despite Matthews's value as a proven commodity, the most exciting addition to the Eagles' offense is their newest wide receiver, Dorial Green-Beckham. But as Pederson noted during his press conference yesterday, the former Titan will be brought along slowly with his new team.
"He's not where you want him to be, obviously, with the terminology of the offense," Pederson said. "That's why we're going to keep it very simple and keep it to one position for him as a receiver. Put a little package together, two, three, four plays, and just let him go play."
The situation Green-Beckham finds himself in, combined with the history of maturity concerns that have been associated with him are not ideal, but he still has the highest ceiling of any receiver on the Eagles roster. Higher than Matthews, higher than last year's first-round pick Nelson Agholor. If he can put things together, he can be the Eagles top playmaker.
Speaking of Agholor, the second-year receiver had a nice catch against the Steelers and is still listed atop the Eagles depth chart. It seems like he is struggling with his drop issues, but as his confidence slowly rises, he should look a lot more like the sure-handed playmaker that dominated the PAC-12 in 2014.
Pederson mentioned Agholor, along with Reuben Randle and Chris Givens as guys who have turned in solid performances over the past few days of practice. Which is important, considering the two veterans are now fighting for their jobs after a pair of sub-par performances.
Well both [Randle and Givens] really have come on," Pederson explained. "I think with Chris' skill set, a speed guy, he's done a nice job catching the ball this week – as all of them have done. Rueben is kind of the veteran, the savvy guy, the smooth, more of the silky runner. And [they are] really two veteran guys that lead that young receiver group.
"And the other one too is [WR] Nelson [Agholor]. Nelson's really stood out these last couple of practices. Both of those — having that veteran leadership — are good for that room."
Having a veteran presence would be a huge advantage for a receiving group that is heavy on youth and potential, but light on actual production.
Aside from the receivers, the lone guy still waiting to hit the field is Wendell Smallwood. The rookie running back has been scratched from the first two games with a hamstring injury, but after a good week of practice, he should see a lot of snaps Saturday night in order to get him acclimated to the speed of NFL football. As a good receiver out of the backfield, the West Virginia product has the potential to do a lot of different things once he's able to hit the field.
And with the reports that Howie Roseman is still looking to improve this roster via trade, more names can be added to this list. But for now, there is an influx of talent on the way, and it can't come soon enough.
