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Philly Mag's Sheil Kapadia...

The pressing question: Will Chip Kelly lighten LeSean McCoy’s workload?

On his way to setting the franchise record for rushing yards, McCoy led the NFL in carries (314) and touches (366). Only Chicago's Matt Forte played more snaps. The Eagles added Darren Sproles in the offseason. Does that mean they want to give McCoy more of a breather in 2014?

The answer, as I see it, is no. McCoy often mentions how his running style lends itself to fewer big hits, and the numbers suggest there could be something to that. In the Eagles' final four regular season games, he piled up 519 yards and averaged 6.3 YPC. In the fourth quarters of games, he led the NFL with 441 yards and averaged 6.0 YPC, according to STATS, Inc. In other words, there were no signs that his production took a hit because of the heavy workload.

McCoy is only 26 years old and the focal point of the Eagles' offense. Matching last year's number of touches would be no surprise. Assuming health, he's as close to a lock as there is to finish as one of the top three rushers in the NFL.

Due to the arrival of Darren Sproles and Jordan Matthews, and the expected emergence of Zach Ertz, we would be surprised if the Eagles didn't lighten McCoy's workload a bit. We currently have him projected for 337 touches, which represents an 8 percent drop in touches. He's still a top 3 RB in both PPR and standard formats.

Bengals Marvin Jones may have been the most efficient receiver in football last year. Of the 22 receivers with at least six touchdowns, Jones (10 TDs) did it in the fewest snaps (555). In fact, only two others on the list accumulated less than 725 total snaps. A full year of Jones on the field most plays and a burgeoning relationship with Andy Dalton could mean a massive spike in production from his 51 receptions for 712 yards.

He finished as the #21 WR in 2013, racking up 51 catches for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 80 targets. What gives Jones upside is the fact that he played just 48% of the snaps, sharing time with the far-less-effective Mohamed Sanu. In that limited playing time, he posted the #4 FP/snap (.25) of all wideouts who played at least 20% of their team’s snaps. All indications are that Jones is going to start opposite A.J. Green, and even though new OC Hue Jackson likes to run it more than Jay Gruden did, Jones’ new role should ensure that he has plenty of opportunity to make plays in his third year. He is shaping up to be a terrific value in the 9th-11th rounds.

Eagles beat writer Sheil Kapadia was asked to come up with a couple possible surprises in the team's starting lineup:

"It's difficult to come up with a second one, but I'll go with Zach Ertz. I know that won't "shock" anybody, but the TE situation is a fascinating one to monitor. We won't know until the season starts how much the offense misses DeSean Jackson. But if teams continue to play man coverage against the Eagles, and guys don't get open, Kelly will have to feature Ertz more. He's a superior option to Brent Celek in the passing game at this point.

"If I'm putting money down, I still say Celek starts and plays more snaps - primarily because he's a much better run blocker. But the TE situation is one to keep an eye on."

For Ertz, snaps may be the only thing standing in the way of a breakout season. Ertz averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there.

Coming out of a spring that saw Eagles rookie Jordan Matthews earn rave reviews as the team's top pass-catcher, expectations around Philly's second-round pick continue to climb.

"You guys are seeing the same things we are," Eagles receivers coach Bob Bicknell told NJ.com. "He's looked very good so far."

Coach Chip Kelly wasted no time after the draft talking up Matthews as a candidate to man the slot alongside Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper. With DeSean Jackson out the door, the rookie is in good position to make an impact for a wideout group that Bicknell called a "little different this year" in terms of on-field skills.

An NFL scout added to the article by saying, "I think Matthews is really going to help them. That was a good pick. He could step right in and contribute for them. Can he start? Possibly, that depends on the other guys." It looks like Matthews could at least be the slot WR between Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin. There are a lot of question marks around the team's WRs and only Maclin cracks our top-35, coming in at 31. But all three could certainly offer some mid-to-late round fantasy value with Nick Foles at QB.

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski has some concerns about Eagles HC Chip Kelly's offense and QB Nick Foles heading into 2014. For one, the quarterback and the scheme will not sneak up on anyone this year.

"I will guarantee you this: every pass that he threw last year was studied and watched by 30 personnel guys with the three teams in this division.They studied Nick Foles to every possible nuance: Where is his foot when he is coming out from under center? Does his heel come up a split second before the snap? Does he flick his hand to get into position before the ball is snapped? They will study every nuance of his game on coaches tape, on television to hear his voice inflection, to see where he turns. Is the ball snapped when his head is looking downfield rather than left to right? All these things, they will have broken his game down. Nick has to make that adjustment. Now that teams have adjusted to him, does he adjust to what they do?

"It's the same thing with the system: the familiarity with the system for the Eagles is great but now all the teams are studying that system. What does Chip do? Does he take this offense to the next level?

Jaws believes Kelly only utilized about half of his playbook last year, and can use more now that the players and assistants are better versed in the scheme.

With DeSean Jackson off the roster, the former Eagles signal-caller believes that the style of attack will be altered.

"It was a vertical passing game. It was an explosive offense, big plays down the field...I think what [Kelly's] going to do instead of the vertical passing game, which was so effective last year, I think he tweaks it a little bit. I think it's going to be more of a horizontal game, sideline to sideline. Spread it that 160 feet on sideline to the other. Work in between the linebackers, maybe a safety will roll down, there's space in there. The offense might not be as explosive but it can be more efficient with that style of offense."

Both concerns (opponents studying the system and the loss of D-Jax) are valid, but Kelly seems ahead of the game scheme-wise, and the offense will compensate for the loss of Jackson by leaning on other playmakers. Darren Sproles, Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff are new arrivals, and the emergence of Zach Ertz should not be overlooked. We believe that Foles has top 5 potential in 2014.

Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver A.J. Green has stated his preference.

He only wants quarterback Andy Dalton throwing him passes.

Whether that continues will depend largely on whether the Bengals get a contract done with Dalton.

"We came in together and that is the great thing for me and him," Green told NFL Network. "I know he's my guy. I don't want any other quarterback throwing me the ball. I think he feels the same way about me. ..

Green's endorsement is good for Dalton as his camp negotiates a new contract.

Pro Bowl is the mandate. We’re not here just to play football. We’re here to dominate.

That’s the motto that floated off the lips of Tom Bender when speaking of his Atlanta-based program, which trains anywhere from 25-35 NFL players at a time during the offseason. It sounds a bit bold until you consider that his clientele includes the likes of Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green and Demaryius Thomas, arguably the top three receivers in the game.

This is the environment Jordan Matthews has nestled into for the past week, and where he'll remain until the Eagles open training camp.

"He's learning a lot, he's integrating well and we're cleaning up some of his college issues," said Bender with a laugh.

Issues? Like?

"That's for us to discuss. It's just a matter of getting him to move better, clean up his routes, just clean up all aspects of his game."

Matthews will likely see snaps in the slot (at least) this season. Jeremy Maclin is working his way back from an ACL injury and Riley Cooper is solid, but unspectacular. There is opportunity in this offense if Matthews has a great summer, and by most accounts he has. Rookie wideouts usually don’t live up to their ADP, but there is the occasional exception.

When asked about Sammy Watkins' potential production as a rookie, Bills.com writer Chris Brown used A.J. Green as a benchmark: "He is dependent on quarterback play and such, but I think A.J. Green is a good indicator as to what Sammy can be in his rookie season. Green was also the fourth pick in the draft and he played with a young quarterback at the time in Andy Dalton. Green had 65 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns as the number one receiver in the Cincinnati offense. I don’t think those are unrealistic numbers for Watkins."

While a 1,000-yard season is certainly in the realm of possibility, seven touchdowns may be a stretch for the Bills, who had 16 passing touchdowns in all of 2013. We currently have Watkins projected for 70.7 catches for 989 yards and 5.3 touchdowns.

Eagles RB LeSean McCoy on QB Nick Foles:

"Nick, he wants to play, he wants to get better," McCoy said, via CSNPhilly.com. "He’s playing lights-out even in camp, but he still wants to be at a higher level. He’s at that peak where people know him like, ‘Man, this Foles, is he that good?’ Because you see the stats, you see the numbers. I think this is the year he blows ‘em out like, ‘Yeah, I’m Nick Foles. I’m Philadelphia’s quarterback. I’m the guy.’ And this is the year he blows it away."

Foles posted the #3 PPG in 2013 and in 11 starts (including the playoffs) he averaged 23.1 FP, which was second only to Peyton Manning. DeSean Jackson is gone, but the return of Jeremy Maclin, the arrival of Darren Sproles and Jordan Matthews and the likely emergence of Zach Ertz should offset that loss. The only other question mark is his limited body of work. Sometimes quarterbacks take a step back in their second year as a starter — it’s also Chip Kelly’s second year as head coach — though Foles played at such a high level that even with a step back, he should still be a solid QB1.

The Redskins failure last year to identify the blitz often left them with the wrong protection scheme, allowing 43 sacks in 2013.

This is something Jay Gruden must address. The Mike Shanahan regime left most of the protection setting to the center, not allowing QB Robert Griffin III much flexibility to change things at the line of scrimmage. While Gruden had his center heavily involved in Cincinnati, he also gave quarterback Andy Dalton the freedom to change the protection, and even the play, at the line of scrimmage if he saw fit.

The Skins have plenty of weapons for RGIII to utilize if he can start to recognize mismatches that he seemingly wasn't allowed to change in the past. This story points out a good example of the team having plenty of blockers, just doing a poor job of picking up a blitz on a play last season. RGIII is ranked 11th among our QBs and his ADP is the seventh, but if you can nab him as your backup QB, he could prove to be a guy you start more often.