Philadelphia Eagles Dorial Green-Beckham again on the bubble

PHILADELPHIA -- Last summer, the Tennessee Titans were so exasperated by wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham for his perceived work ethic shortcomings and inability to learn that they essentially gave him away to the Philadelphia Eagles for a backup offensive lineman (Dennis Kelly).

This came just one year after selecting the 6-5, 225-pounder in the second round of the 2015 draft.

Now, a year later, Green-Beckham finds himself on the bubble again with Philadelphia.

The Eagles added four wideouts to their roster in the off-season, two in free agency -- Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith -- and two in the draft -- fourth-rounder Mack Hollins and fifth-rounder Shelton Gibson.

The two veterans likely in jeopardy of not making it to the season-opening starting line are Green-Beckham and 2014 first-round pick Nelson Agholor.

"I'm looking at the numbers," Green-Beckham said. "But I really haven't had the chance to actually get the (opportunities) since I only got here last year. I'm just getting a feel for playing with this team."

Green-Beckham played 642 snaps last season, which was almost 60 percent of the Eagles' offensive plays. He had just 36 receptions and averaged only 10.9 yards per catch.

The only route the Eagles coaches seemed to trust him to run was a slant, where he could use his body to shield the defender from the ball.

"It's crowded (at wide receiver)," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Monday. "And this is the NFL. It's competitive. That's a position we need some more productivity out of this year.

"It was his first year in the system. We had a rookie quarterback (Carson Wentz). I was encouraged by some of the things he did. He has traits that are unique with his size and length and strength.

"We'll see what happens. He's in a good situation, but it's going to be a competitive battle."

There's a good possibility that the Eagles will keep only five wideouts on their 53-man roster because they have several versatile running backs -- Darren Sproles, rookie Donnel Pumphrey and Byron Marshall -- who can line up anywhere in the formation.

"I know what I'm capable of doing," Green-Beckham said.