Along with Riley Cooper, the Philadelphia Eagles have a trio of young wide receivers to be excited about.
Jordan Matthews is coming off of an extremely productive rookie season. Josh Huff had an up-and-down rookie season, but he did show flashes of big play ability. The Eagles selected USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor with the 20th overall pick in this year's draft.
However, the acquisition of Miles Austin might turn out to one of the biggest moves that the Eagles made this offseason.
The ex-Dallas Cowboys target caught 47 balls for a total of 568 yards and two touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns last season. Those are respectable numbers, especially when you consider that he missed the final four games of the season due to a kidney injury.
Standing at 6'3" and 215 pounds, Austin possesses the size that the Eagles are looking for at the wide receiver position. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly believes that Austin's experience will be both beneficial to the Eagles' offense as a productive player and as a mentor to the younger receivers on the team.
"[Austin] kind of knows the subtleties of the exact route running, kind of exactly where to maybe place his elbow to get separation in terms of pushing off the hip and things like that," Kelly said. "He's imparted that on the younger guys, which I think has really helped us to have a true veteran route runner in there, and I think he's been really good at doing that."
The 30-year-old Austin is a native of New Jersey. He explains that playing football closer to home is like a breathe of fresh air.
"It's my first year in Philadelphia, but I love it already," Austin said. "I am from New Jersey, so being back in the area and closer to my friends and family is great."
Additionally, Austin is thrilled to be on the green side of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry.
"It's also pretty exciting for me to be on this side of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry," Austin said. "I am fortunate to be part of something this special, and I'm looking forward to us bringing it together collectively as a team and doing something really special this season."
Eagles fans will get their first glimpse of Miles Austin wearing midnight green when the Eagles host the Indianapolis Colts in the 2015 preseason opener on Sunday, Aug. 16.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
