The Eagles need more from a receiving corps that was reconfigured by Chip Kelly during the last two offseasons. That word came from the mouth of owner Jeffrey Lurie when he said Kelly wanted to "reconfigure the wide receiver position" after the unceremonious release of DeSean Jackson in March 2014.

Riley Cooper is the only receiver remaining that Kelly inherited from Andy Reid. The overhaul included the departures of Jackson (to Washington, Sunday's opponent) and Jeremy Maclin (to Kansas City) - both Pro Bowlers for Kelly and foundation pieces for Reid - and roster mainstay Jason Avant. They were replaced by three receivers selected in the first three rounds of the 2014 and '15 drafts: Nelson Agholor, Matthews, and Josh Huff. Veterans Miles Austin and Seyi Ajirotutu round out this year's unit.

"It's a different group," Cooper said. "Not saying the other groups were bad, but it's just a different group. It's a bunch of guys that can play every position - play the inside, play the outside, block in the run game with the screens and stuff we're trying to do . . . getting a safety out of the box."

The biggest difference, though, has been the lack of production from a No. 1 receiver on the outside. Players and coaches have argued that it's a function of the way defenses are playing them. But it could also be the lack of a player like Jackson or Maclin.

"I really don't know [that] it's changed that much. The way people have played us is different," wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell said. ". . . I think we have the same players as we had the first year and the same type of skill-sets in different places."

Moving on

When a player leaves, Kelly often cites money as the reason. That was a factor in both Jackson's and Maclin's departures after career seasons under Kelly.

Jackson's release was a complicated ordeal, but he was due $10.5 million in 2014. Maclin replaced Jackson by catching 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015 and became one of the top free agents during the spring.

Maclin wanted to return to Philadelphia, and Kelly wanted him back, but the coach didn't value him as much as Reid, who signed Maclin to a five-year, $55 million contract in Kansas City.

The combined salary-cap hit of the Eagles' receivers this season is about $11.2 million. Maclin has a higher cap hit in each of the next four years of his deal.

Agholor takes most of the snaps at the spot that was filled by Jackson and then Maclin, although it's not necessarily a one-for-one swap. Matthews downplayed the notion of a true No. 1 receiver during the spring and said the focus should instead be on the Eagles' overall receiving corps.

"Obviously, we'd like to spread the ball around and get everyone involved," quarterback Sam Bradford said. "That makes it a lot tougher for the defense to game plan as opposed to when you're really concentrating on one or two guys on the ball. I think that's what we're going to try to get to."

It's what they give you

In the Eagles' 24-17 win over the New York Jets last Sunday, Matthews was the only wide receiver to catch a pass. As much as Matthews is preaching unit-wide success, the numbers suggest otherwise. He has almost twice as many catches and yards as the other wide receivers combined.

When it's not Matthews catching Bradford's passes, it's usually a running back or a tight end. Darren Sproles is second on the team in catches and yards. DeMarco Murray is third in catches; Zach Ertz is third in yards.

"You look at guys inside - you've got Jordan, Darren, myself - we've got a lot of confidence in those three guys," Ertz said. "The outside guys have gotten their number called. Unfortunately, we haven't completed many balls. We don't have a Jeremy or DeSean out there right now, but we have a lot of confidence in Nelson coming in."

The inside-out passing game is also the result of the way defenses are playing the Eagles this season, with deep safeties allowing underneath patterns.

"You kind of have to dink and dunk," Cooper said. "Then they start to put people in the box, and we start throwing down the field."

In 2013, the Eagles saw mostly man-to-man coverage. They responded with an NFL-record 80 passing plays of 20 or more yards. They saw mostly zone coverage last season. This year, the Eagles are often seeing zones with safeties deep.

"I think it depends, and I've said this since Day 1, how people defend you is how your game will express itself," Kelly said. ". . . People play off and back of us. . . . They're going to make you run for first downs, and that's what we have to do."

Of course, the Eagles don't have the personnel from previous years, either. As Washington is finding out with Jackson injured, the big plays are more difficult to find when he is not in the lineup.

Bradford is responsible, too. He's only attempted seven passes of more than 20 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. The Eagles attempted 96 of those passes last season, an average of almost four more per game.

"I don't think we've called a lot of deep balls," Bradford said. "Hopefully that's something we can get to. I think that just depends on what we see as our best matchup, what we see as favorable that week."

Still optimistic

There might be concern about the Eagles' passing game outside of the NovaCare Complex, but the players are optimistic. That's because of the improvements in the running game; the production of the running backs and tight ends, which could draw the defense's attention; chemistry that could result from more time with Bradford; and the development of Agholor, who will play only the fourth game of his career on Sunday.

"Now teams are saying, 'How do we cover Darren Sproles?' and 'How do we cover Zach Ertz?' and 'How do we cover Jordan Matthews?' " Bicknell said. "Really, you take what defenses give you."

Cooper said the receivers have had drops and need to make more plays, so he didn't want to put all of the blame on the offensive line and the poor showing of the running game. But if the running game improves, the coverages will change. One of the reasons the Eagles saw so much man-to-man coverage in 2013 was because of LeSean McCoy's production.

And then there's Agholor, whose production hasn't matched his playing time. He took 93 percent of the offensive snaps last week and did not record a catch. He has been on the field for 83 percent of the snaps this year and has just four catches for 36 yards. That's comparable playing time to Jackson and Maclin the previous two years, but they averaged about five catches for 83 yards per game.

Bicknell said when he watches film, he sees Agholor getting open and creating separation. Agholor was encouraged by positive words from Darrelle Revis after last week's game.

If the optimism turns into more production, the receiving corps will help more than it did in September. It will also show that Sproles' intuition was accurate.

"Where we want to be is where it's distributed among everyone," Matthews said. "It's hard to tell right now because it's three games in. But the story of the whole passing game will be told midseason, couple more games. . . . Then when you all come back, we'll see how everything's shaping out."

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm