Miles Austin Providing A Veteran Presence At Wide Receiver

When the Philadelphia Eagles first announced their one-year deal with wide receiver Miles Austin, many immediately questioned the move. Why in the world would the Eagles sign a 30-year old, injury prone player on the decline? It’s quite simple, they have one of the youngest wide receiver groups in the NFL and Austin provides a veteran presence that they were really missing.

In 2014, rookies Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff constantly referred to Jeremy Maclin as a player they leaned on for help and guidance both on and off the field. Now that Maclin left the City of Brotherly Love for Kansas City, the Eagles needed to fill the leadership void that he left behind. While Austin isn’t nearly the player that Maclin is on the field, he has a wealth of experience and knowledge that he can pass on to all of the younger wide receivers.

May 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Miles Austin (19) attempts to catch multiple balls during OTA

Austin is by far the oldest wide receiver on the Eagles’ roster with only Seyi Ajirotutu and Riley Cooper remotely close to him at 27-years old. The team’s wide receiver group has an average age of just 24.2 years old but when you consider the team’s likely top three wide receivers will be Matthews, Huff and first-round pick Nelson Agholor, that number gets even lower at 22.3. With that kind of youth in the Eagles’ wide receiver meeting room, it’s easy to see why Austin’s experience was much needed.

With 118 career games played, Austin has a wealth of in-game experience that no other wide receiver on the Eagles’ roster could offer. Cooper is the closest with 72 career games played but he was primarily a back-up player prior to his breakout 2013 season, which we all know was followed up by a disappointing 2014 season. But although he has that experience, has Austin actually taught the young guys anything yet during his time in Philadelphia?

Both Agholor and Matthews discussed what Austin has brought to the team and what he has helped them with thus far. “Miles is very shifty, he’s a vet that knows how to move laterally. He’s real smooth about his releases and I think he has great technique in the way he’s done things,” Agholor said when asked about what he’s learned from watching Austin during practice.

Matthews elaborated a bit more about Austin’s presence on the team, even throwing in a “bar” that reporters didn’t catch at first. “Yeah man, #19 is a baller. He’s played a long time so he’s got some miles on him, y’all will get that later. But yeah man, great player. Dude, the second him and DeMarco [Murray] walked into this locker room, nothing but positive energy. Great guys, Miles man, it’s like having another coach in that meeting room. He’s not just able to tell me things like coach [Bob] Bicknell is but he is actually able to come out here and show me how to do them, you know, consistently,” Matthews said.

“The main thing he’s been teaching me this whole time is patience,” Matthews continued. “He’s shown me some new things as far as release moves, he’s my weight room partner. He’s one of those guys that I can really lean on now that Maclin is gone. I’m in a really blessed situation to have him here.”

As you can tell, Austin is certainly helping the younger wide receivers in a big way. Matthews especially seems to have built a strong relationship with the 10-year veteran, leaning on him for guidance both on and off the field. It’s important for such a young positional group to have a veteran presence that has seen both the highs and lows of the NFL. Austin went from one of the league’s best wide receivers in 2009 to a player struggling to find a team just years later. That type of experience is invaluable and will only help the team moving forward.

While it was initially tough for some to accept Austin as a member of the Eagles, because of his age and injury history, it’s becoming easier to realize just why the team made the move. With such a young and relatively inexperienced group of wide receivers, it’s important to have a steadying veteran presence among the group and Austin fits that role perfectly in Philadelphia.

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