John Metchie leaning on relationships to catch up with Eagles

John Metchie leaning on relationships to catch up with Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The first phone call John Metchie received after being traded to the Eagles?

It came from DeVonta Smith.

Just being the first one to welcome me," Metchie said. Welcome me to the team, welcome me to the city."

The Eagles on Sunday afternoon acquired Metchie, a former second-round pick, for a Day 3 pick swap and tight end Harrison Bryant. It was a move to bolster the Eagles' receiver depth.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Smith reached out so quickly. He and Metchie were teammates for a couple seasons at Alabama and won a National Championship together in 2020.

How much will that relationship help as Metchie tries to catch up in Philly?

I'm sure a lot," Metchie said. Going to college together, especially being together for like two years, you grow up together. In college, you're around each other all day. So you definitely get a sense of each other on the field. Probably will help me get acclimated quicker and things like that."

That's not the only relationship Metchie has in the Eagles' locker room. He also knows Jahan Dotson pretty well. While they weren't ever actually teammates in high school, Dotson hosted Metchie on his visit to The Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey.

Then when Metchie was deciding about his college destination, it came down to Alabama or Penn State. And at that time, Dotson was at PSU.

That's another one of those relationships in the locker room that I feel like I've known these guys for years, which I have actually," Metchie said. I'm excited about that."

If there's someone in the Eagles' locker room who knows what it takes to catch up after getting traded in August, it's Dotson. He got traded to the Eagles from the Commanders on Aug. 22 last year and played in every game during the Super Bowl season.

What is Dotson's best advice for Metchie?

Dive into that playbook," Dotson said. That's kind of what I've been telling him. Just try to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible to give yourself the best chance to get out on the field. That's truly the only way you can get out there is if you know what you're doing. He has all the talent, all the tools to be out there. Just to dive in his playbook and know what he's doing."

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was asked on Tuesday if the experience with Dotson will help the Eagles get Metchie get caught up.

I think when you bring a guy in later in camp, they have to be caught up to speed as fast as they can," Patullo said. But still having a couple weeks left, I think the timing's pretty good. (Receivers coach) Aaron Morehead does a really good job. He's been with us the whole time. He knows the system, knows where we're going with things.

And then he'll be familiar with DeVonta and some of the other guys to lean on. So, I think from the standpoint of bringing a guy in, we're in a pretty good spot where he can still pick it up and feel confident in what he can do."

It was also very important for Dotson last year to learn how to play with Jalen Hurts. That was a slow evolution last season and those two have been able to forge a much stronger bond this training camp.

While Metchie didn't get to play with Hurts at Alabama - they just missed each other - that Crimson Tide connection might still help.

I'm sure," Metchie said. It's familiarity, knowing about each other, knowing the system or the school. We both went to the same school, we both came up in the same school of football. I'm sure familiarity in that way."

Because of injuries to A.J. Brown, Smith and Johnny Wilson, not only did Metchie participate in his first practice as an Eagle on Tuesday, he got some first-team reps. And he already caught his first pass from Hurts.

But Metchie isn't getting bogged down by what his role might be or how he fits into the Eagles' depth chart. He's worrying about what he can control.

For many players, that's lip service. It's something just about every football player says, that they just worry about what they can control. But Metchie has a unique perspective because of the way his NFL career began.

Metchie entered the pre-draft process in 2022 with a torn ACL that dropped him to the second round and then he missed his entire rookie season after being diagnosed with leukemia.Going through all that helped Metchie to mature and to realign his priorities.

Those lessons are still with him in a new locker room.

Just kind of being present with everything. Living the dream," Metchie said. Not worrying about a bunch of things you can't control. I think that's probably the biggest thing. And worrying about the things you can control and the things you're grateful for. Things like that."