Eagles’ wide receiver Chris Givens clearly isn’t familiar with his new teammate.
"Honestly, I don't know too much about the guy,” Givens said about Dorial Green-Beckham, whom the Eagles acquired from the Titans Tuesday (see story).
“No disrespect to him or anybody else, I've never heard of him, so I don't know what he brings. I just heard he's like 6-7, so I guess that's good for him, but other than that, I have no idea."
Rueben Randle doesn’t know the newest Eagle, either.
“Actually we just found out at the end of practice, so it’s new to everyone, so [I’m] just gonna go out there like anyone else and try to get better,” Randle said.
The Eagles have made a sincere effort over the last couple seasons to add to their receiver depth, and the 6-foot-5, 237-pound Green-Beckham is the latest wideout to get an opportunity. Green-Beckham had 32 receptions for 549 yards and four touchdowns in his rookie campaign with the Titans, but it was his off-the-field issues which made headlines.
Nonetheless, he’s another body in camp who has a chance to take a roster spot from someone else. So what does that mean for the receivers who have been in Eagles camp all offseason?
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“I don’t feel like that has anything to do with me,” Givens said. “That’s something [the front office wants] to do, I’m gonna come out here and compete and show that I need to be on the field every single down, and that’s it."
Last year’s first-round pick Nelson Agholor knows Green-Beckham well. The two were part of the same draft class and spent time together at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“At the end of the day, whatever decisions that they make upstairs, we can’t control that,” said Agholor. “What we can do is respond. What we’re gonna do is with a guy coming in, we’re all gonna compete. He’s gonna make us better, we’re gonna make him better.”
The Eagles’ receivers were inconsistent and at times unreliable last season, including Jordan Matthews, who struggled with drops throughout the season. Even with somewhat of a new group this year, they didn’t put together a noteworthy showing in the preseason opener last Thursday, either. Maybe Howie Roseman and company felt the need to further address that sooner rather than later.
“I don’t know how much you can take away from a first preseason game,” Givens said. “But if they did, that’s what they did, that’s what they felt like they needed to do, so I’m just gonna continue to focus on my craft and be the best I can be and go out here and be somebody this team can depend on.”
Roseman noted Tuesday that Green-Beckham is not guaranteed a roster spot and simply will have an opportunity with the team. How he affects the Eagles’ plans and who may be the odd man out come final cuts is something to keep an eye on.
While the trade will certainly enhance competition throughout the rest of the preseason, the current receiver group knows the move was made in the best interest of the team.
“He’s gonna enter our family in the wide receiver corps and we’re all gonna compete and you know, competition makes us all rise,” Agholor said. “He has skillsets that I can learn from, and it’s gonna help me out, and I’m gonna try to help him out.”
