Chip Kelly compliments wide receiver Arrelious Benn

Due to the injury to Jeremy Maclin and the situation with Riley Cooper, the Philadelphia Eagles are in desperate need of some of their more unheralded wide receivers to step up. Eagles fans should be encouraged, then, by head coach Chip Kelly’s complimentary remarks about former Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

Here’s what Kelly had to say about Benn’s performance following Sunday’s practice (transcript courtesy of Philly.com):

"I was pleasantly surprised. I did not ‑‑ you expect some rust, to be honest with you. A couple of the early drills, quarterback receiver catch drills, running routes and things like that, he kind of flashed a little bit. I thought he was really good from a mental standpoint. He missed some insertion time because, obviously, he was out, and we can’t stop insertion just because one guy is out. And we called things today that he had never run in practice before and he really picked up. So as I said earlier, I was pleasantly not surprised as much as maybe happy to get Regis back out there. He’s a big, physical target, and he’s also really good on teams. So having that versatility of having your receivers that can contribute to special teams is a big help for us."

Let’s hope Benn continues to play well; the Eagles are going to need all the help they can get, no matter who is throwing the ball.

[Source: Philly.com]