The Philadelphia Eagles have signed wide receiver Chris Givens to a one-year deal. Givens was traded to the Baltimore Ravens from the Los Angeles Rams for a 2018 seventh round pick. The Eagles were desperate for wide receiver help after the ineffectiveness of their offense last season. The leader of this receiving corps Jordan Matthews has only spent two seasons with the team.
In 2015 he posted 12 starts, 85 receptions, 997 receiving yards, 11.7 yards per catch and eight touchdowns. Matthews is the only Eagles wide receiver who has had five or more touchdowns in the past two seasons. Matthews was expected to take a step to the next level, and it just never occurred as the Eagles dealt with their fair share of bad offensive line and quarterback play.
The next man up was Josh Huff, and at 24 he too has also only spent two seasons with the Eagles. Huff made four starts during the 2015 season, recording 27 receptions, 312 receiving yards, 11.6 yards per catch and three touchdowns. Huff has never had more than 30 receptions and three ouchdowns in his career, so he is not looking like the Eagles' answer at wide receiver either.
The last receiver to have a primary role in the Philadelphia offense was rookie Nelson Agholor, who was very quiet for most of the season. Agholor only recorded 12 starts, 23 receptions, 283 receiving yards, 12.3 yards per catch and a single touchdown.
It was very clear that this group could not get things done. Givens is relatively similar to the rest of the Eagles' wide receivers as he is still fairly young at 26 and has not scored more than five touchdowns during his five-season career. Givens started his career with the St. Louis Rams where he played in the majority of their games for two seasons. That is when he put up his best stat lines as he recorded more than 500 yards receiving in both 2012 and 2013. It was not enough to allow him to keep his starting job, and he would be benched for the next two seasons, not starting in a single game.
Givens only started six games after he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, however he caught three touchdowns in that time span. Givens will now look to reconnect with Sam Bradford as he has had his best season catching balls from the Eagles' starting quarterback.
