By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Even for all of the offseason hoopla and rumors surrounding him, the Eagles offense was better off with Jordan Matthews.
Matthews, who was set to slide into the slot this season with the offseason additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, was traded on Friday to the Buffalo Bills for cornerback Ronald Darby.
The Eagles are still massively depleted at cornerback, and that was evident in their preseason opener in Green Bay, but Matthews looked solid in his first preseason action too, certainly more so than the likes of Nelson Agholor and the rest of the Eagles depth receivers and rookies vying for more playing time.
Darby brings in some much-desired help to the cornerback position. But parting with Matthews and a third-round pick in 2018 is a steep cost to improve.
On the opening touchdown drive orchestrated by Carson Wentz, three of the passes went to Matthews, all completed. The last pass was a 38-yard touchdown catch and run by Mack Hollins.
Once you get past the depth of Hollins and Agholor, the Eagles didn’t have much to show. Treggs had a big first game, but mainly playing against third-string players. The rest leave little to be excited about. Agholor didn’t look much better than he did last season on two attempts, despite all the talk about looking like a different player in camp.
Ultimately, the Eagles glaring need for help at cornerback was too much to overlook. Not to mention that the Eagles were linked to talks regarding Matthews for so much of the offseason that it became a rumor that swirled around the receiver as camp began.
Darby is entering his third season in the NFL and looking for a chance to evolve even more after two quality seasons, including an excellent rookie campaign. Last season, Darby had 69 tackles for Buffalo and has two career interceptions and 33 career passes defended in 29 games over two seasons.
For what it’s worth, Darby was selected by Buffalo with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The Eagles picked three picks prior and selected Eric Rowe.
Rowe’s rookie season saw him finish with 31 tackles, one interception and five passes defended in 16 games. Darby’s rookie season was significantly better, with 68 tackles, two interceptions and 21 passes defended in 15 games. Rowe had just 26 tackles, one interception and seven passes defended in nine games with the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the 2016 season after being traded by the Eagles during the preseason last year.
Darby could become a star in Philadelphia with significant playing time and continual development and success. Could…but at what cost.
Jeffery was not able to play in the preseason opener. Smith was not targeted on the opening drive, the only one he played. The Eagles were also without Marcus Johnson, said to be another player to watch in camp.
Preseason games are crucial for the depth players that need to prove they belong. The Eagles just opened up a spot for one of them at wide receiver, and based on the first game, filling that void is not going to be easy.
Things could certainly change if Jeffery comes in, stays healthy through the season and performs like a No. 1 receiver as he did in Chicago and Smith proves to be the perfect compliment. It would also help to see Agholor and potentially Hollins be utilized as other options in the offense to counter the top two.
While it is encouraging that the Eagles seemingly took one look at the secondary on the field in the preseason opener and knew something had to be done, the Bills proved how costly help can be. Ronald Darby could be a great cornerback in the NFL or he could turn out to be a bust. It’s too early in his career to tell.
But Matthews was starting to become established after three solid years with the Eagles. He gets the chance to go into Buffalo and be their No. 1 receiver. There’s risk to both sides, but trading away a player that has certainly not been a bust over the last three seasons for a third-year player still looking to prove himself is a risk.
The rest of the Eagles preseason just got much more interesting though. The Eagles will now have to see how Darby fits in and what he can bring to the secondary and if it’s truly an improvement while somehow trying to find a way to fill the void of Matthews among the receiving core.
It may be interesting to see how it plays out, but for now, it sure looks like a costly way for the Eagles to aid one position while hurting another.
