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Jun 17, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews (81) catches the ball during mini camp at the Philadelphia Eagles NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA -- Some wide receivers in the NFL would take every opportunity to talk about themselves, but don't make the mistake of including Eagles rookie Jordan Matthews among them.

The one time the Vanderbilt product has bristled this spring and summer was when asked about his own personal goals for the season.

"Nah," Matthews said, glaring at the questioner, "I don't get into that."

Jerry Rice's second cousin is about as unselfish as they come, it seems, and during the spring his work ethic has resulted in a prolific set of practices where despite being a second-round draft choice, Matthews may already be the best wide receiver on the roster.

He simply catches everything; from the routine out patterns to balls thrown over the middle in traffic, and almost every reception results in putting in the extra effort to get yards after the catch, even after coaches blow the whistle ending the play.

"It was a cool experience," Matthews said of his first NFL minicamp. "Trying to learn, try to get better every day, learn from the veterans. We have a great nucleus of leaders and guys here to follow, so it's been great. Very informative and I'm just trying to keep up all that training and everything over the break and get ready for camp."

Matthews, the 42nd pick in this year’s draft, set an SEC record this past fall with 112 catches, and his 1,477 yards were third-most in conference history. He finished his college career with SEC records of 242 catches and 3,759 yards.

At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, Matthews has all the tools to exceed the expectations of outsiders who project mammoth numbers as a rookie -- even if he doesn't have those goals for himself.

Yet only two out of the last 43 first-round draft choices at wide receiver have posted 1,000 yard seasons as a rookie, Matthews lands in a situation in Eagles head coach Chip Kelly's offense where he could immediately thrive.

"[It's] definitely a great learning environment," Matthews said. "I couldn't ask to be in a better organization.

"Coach [Chip] Kelly, [wide receivers] coach [Bob] Bicknell, coach Pat [Shurmur], they've all made it a great area for me to come to and a great atmosphere for me to come here and actually learn and get better, so I really appreciate that and now I just have to go out there and make plays for them."

It isn't just writers, reporters and observers who have noticed Matthews' strong performance during his introduction to life in the NFL, Kelly has praised him on multiple occasions.

“Jordan has done a nice job since he's gotten here,” Kelly said. “Obviously, for all the rookies it's getting acclimated with what we are doing in terms of schemes and learning new terminology, but you get great effort and a consistent approach on a daily basis from what he gives you.”

It's that approach and team-first mentality Matthews takes that could serve he and the Eagles very well this season and beyond.

Follow Matt Lombardo on Twitter: @MattLombardo975