Eagles beat writer Phil Sheridan on WR Jordan Matthews: Matthews is the prototype for what Kelly wants in his receivers: 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, good speed. This is why DeSean Jackson, for all his production, is not here anymore. Jackson simply can't block in the run game or on bubble screens to teammates. Matthews' size allows HC Chip Kelly to use him in a variety of ways, and the coach hasn't hesitated to expand the rookie's role. Remember, Kelly spent most of his career coaching 19-year-olds. So he doesn't shy away from playing rookies or second-year guys in the NFL. Also, Matthews seemed to play faster and with more confidence Monday night than we'd seen up until then. I think he's just getting started.

Matthews has shown a good rapport with QB Mark Sanchez that dates back to their time together on the second team in training camp. His snaps are consistently in the 60 to 70 percent range and he's outplaying starting WR Riley Cooper, whose snaps are down a bit in recent weeks. We believe there is a changing of the guard going on in Philadelphia, so Matthews should be owned in all leagues. He's a Sneaky Start in what should be a high scoring game against the Packers in Week 11.

With the Eagles off on both Monday and Tuesday this week, Sanchez got together with rookie receiver Jordan Matthews and tight end Zach Ertz for some on-the-field work. The three spent close to an hour on Monday working on routes and getting their timing down.

"Mark texted me saying he was getting in some extra work," Ertz said. "With the injury to Nick, we wanted to get a rapport down (with Sanchez). I didn't play too many snaps against Houston, so I wanted to come back and get back into the rhythm.

For Ertz, getting his timing down with Sanchez is something that will need to be worked on, as the tight end has much more experience catching the ball from the injured Nick Foles.

While Matthews' snaps have been pretty consistent lately, Ertz is having trouble getting on the field and it's showing up in the box score. He played a season-low 29% of the snaps in Week 9 and it led to just two targets and just one catch for four yards.

Paired together on the second team this summer, Eagles QB Mark Sanchez and WR Jordan Matthews became fast friends on the field. Sanchez targeted Matthews so often it became a running joke among some members of the media:

“Guess who?"

Without looking, you knew it was Sanchez to Matthews.

“We’re both extremely competitive guys and it was the situation coming into camp and OTAs that the way the reps were set we were going to be in there a lot with each other, so we both made it a point to go out there and work hard,” said Matthews. “He noticed something in me so he gave me a lot of opportunities and I knew, OK, I’m coming in here and I have a quarterback that trusts me and I have to make the most of the opportunities.”

“He’s just got a knack for finding the open zone in coverage, and if it’s man-to-man he is so competitive he wants to win every time. With that kind of drive and that kind of talent he has, that’s when you get a real special player,” said Sanchez. “He’s still developing, he’s still learning a ton and he’s getting to do that while he’s playing. It’s been good to watch. And it was cool to throw my first touchdown to him. That was pretty exciting.”

We've given Matthews a small bump now that Sanchez is under center based on the duo's excellent rapport during training camp.

Eagles.com writer Tommy Lawlor evaluates how Mark Sanchez played in relief of the injured Nick Foles:

Sanchez played well and certainly offered hope that the Eagles will be fine without Foles. Sanchez connected with Jeremy Maclin on a deep ball on his very first play of the game. Sanchez also threw a pair of red zone touchdown passes. If a quarterback can deliver big plays and red zone touchdowns, you feel good about your chances to win games.

Sanchez made good decisions in the game. His throws were accurate. I thought he put great touch on several key passes. Sanchez hit Jordan Matthews on a fade for a short touchdown. That was an exceptionally good throw. The ball needed some air on it so Matthews could run under it, but the pass couldn't be too soft or the defender could get to it. Sanchez put the ball right where it needed to be and it had great touch. Matthews made the grab and got both feet down. The other red zone score was a pass to Maclin on the right side. Maclin was well-covered, but the defender had his back to the ball. Sanchez threw the ball low and Maclin went down to make the grab.

Both plays were impressive because it is hard to score in the red zone. You love having open receivers, but often the quarterback has to "throw his receiver open." Sanchez did just that on both plays. He put the ball in a spot where only his guy could get it. Also, Sanchez threw the passes so that they were catchable. There were times in the past when Mike Vick would put too much heat on his red zone throws and receivers couldn't handle them. Sanchez made good reads, quick decisions and the right kind of throws. That's what you want in the red zone.

We have Sanchez ranked #16 in our rest-of-season rankings. He's an attractive add mainly due to Chip Kelly's offense. He looked capable at times while with the Jets, but never had a good selection of weapons around him. He'll have plenty of talented receivers to throw to in Philly. His schedule down the stretch only has one scary matchup -- Week 14 vs. Seattle.

Eagles HC Chip Kelly says Riley Cooper is doing a good job and Jordan Matthews not going to see reps outside soon. Says he wants that big, physical slot presence.

It doesn't sound like Matthews is going to usurp Cooper anytime soon. Matthews is playing 50-66% of the snaps (61% average), and that number will need to rise before he'll become a dependable fantasy starter. The good news is that the Eagles run a lot of plays, so a 61% snap percentage is more appealing for an Eagles player than it is for most other teams.