Eagles second-round draft pick Jordan Matthews has the blood lines to be great, and it appears he has the drive as well.

Matthews, cousin of Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, became the SEC's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards during his senior season at Vanderbilt before the Eagles made him the 42nd player chosen in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Rice's work ethic was legendary; it included running hills during the offseason, practicing at a high level and putting in extra hours in the film room.

It appears that is something Matthews has inherited from his cousin whose bust resides in Canton, Ohio, and it's precisely that work ethic that has Matthews setting some lofty career goals for himself.

During his pre-draft visit with the Eagles, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Matthews brought a notebook full of observations both of his own game and of questions about the Eagles' system. Prior to the Senior Bowl, he requested game tape of the cornerbacks he would be lining up against.

"I think, every aspect," Matthews told 97.5 The Fanatic on Sunday when asked what areas of his game he needs to work on. "I don't think there's just one thing that you need to get better at.

"You need to put a penny in the jar every day. It's footwork, hand placement, things like that. I want to work on everything in my game because I want to be one of the best ever."

Upon finishing his four-year college career at Vanderbilt with 262 receptions for 3,759 yards and 24 touchdowns, Matthews is excited about the opportunity to play in coach Chip Kelly's high octane Eagles offense.

"Definitely a lot of explosiveness," Matthews said of his first impressions of Kelly's offense from the game film he watched leading up to the draft. "They have answers for everything.

"It's not like you're coming out of the huddle every time with one play in mind. You have a lot of different options depending on what the defenses are throwing at you. If you want to line up in certain coverage, they'll have an option where they can pass it or have an option with the run game.

"I'm ready to get into the playbook and learn it at an in-depth level. On the surface, I really enjoyed watching it and am excited to start learning it."

Matthews will get plenty of opportunities to contribute immediately this season as Kelly has him slated to be the Eagles' starting slot receiver.

"I think the one thing we talked about is man coverage," Kelly said. "The one thing he does is catch the ball in traffic. He made an unbelievable amount of contested catches. You know, he's got such a wing span and will go up and get it, and can play both inside and outside.

"We're probably going to start him inside. If we've got Jerry Maclin on one side and (Riley Cooper) on the other side and throw him inside, and he has experience. So I think the kind of thing that would separate him from some other people is he does have experience."

Matthews pointed out that he only missed two practices in four years at Vanderbilt and truly values time on the practice field. Under Kelly, that work will prove crucial in learning the ins and outs of the Eagles' multifaceted offense.

"It's all about roles," Matthews said. "There are levels to becoming great in the NFL and that's one of the things you've gotta do as a rookie. ... You have to find your role and become the best at that before you can move on to a new one. That's what I'm going to be doing."

Follow Matt Lombardo on Twitter: @MattLombardo975