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Big things were expected of the Eagles' biggest receiver in 2007, but after a solid rookie season, Hank Baskett actually found himself playing a lesser role in Philadelphia's offense during his sophomore campaign.

Nevertheless, like teammate Jason Avant, Baskett made the most of the opportunities that he was given on offense, did the little things well, and made his mark on special teams. Baskett was actually named Philadelphia's special teams MVP as voted by the players, ending safety Quintin Mikell's two-year reign with that title.

He also led the team in special teams production points, with 277 thanks largely to his work both covering kicks and blocking in the return game.

With Avant's emergence and the offseason addition of Kevin Curtis, Baskett saw less passes thrown in his direction than he did during his rookie year, but managed to contribute as a solid outside blocker in the run game. Obviously Brian Westbrook made the Eagles offense go in 2007, and Baskett helped him to his record-breaking season with his blocking both on outside runs and in the screen game.

Still, Baskett is on the roster to catch passes, and he will undoubtedly be looking for more chances to do that in 2008. In his rookie season, Baskett used his length to stretch the field, but in 2007, he was unable to shake loose for bigger gains. Baskett had a reception that went for more than 15 yards in nine games during his rookie season, but last year he caught only two passes that went for 15-plus.

That disparity showed in Baskett's final statistics. He averaged 21.1 yards per catch on his 22 receptions in 2006, but only 8.9 on his 16 catches last season.

The Eagles' offense was plagued by a lack of explosiveness for much of the season, and with Donovan McNabb fully healthy in 2008, the team will need Baskett to provide some of the big play flare he displayed in 2006.

The team could also use a consistent threat in the red zone, and at 6-foot-4 Baskett has the size to develop into that kind of player. Neither Reggie Brown nor Kevin Curtis is the type of receiver that will go up to get balls throw to the back corner of the end zone, and though Avant is a physical player, he is four inches shorter than Baskett.

The Eagles will likely be looking to remedy both their lack of explosiveness and their red zone struggles in the offseason, whether or not increased opportunities for Baskett is the answer to either question remains to be seen.

 

One of the real puzzles was the lack of involvement of Baskett in the offense in 2007. After catching 22 passes as a rookie, Baskett grabbed just 16 last season. Where was he? Well, the offense evolved with Jason Avant having a larger part of the action, so both Baskett and Greg Lewis had their roles diminished over time.

 

Baskett didn't let that get him down. He led the team in special teams production points, he blocked very well from the line of scrimmage and he caught whatever was thrown in his direction. That he seemed to get fewer chances was one of the many questions about the offense, and it leads to the question of where and how Baskett fits in moving forward.

 

He seems to have what the Eagles would like in the red zone – toughness, size, leaping ability, strength. Yet Baskett rarely had balls thrown in his direction inside the 20-yard line even with all the trouble the offense had scoring touchdowns.

 

Baskett's next step in the offense is to continue to work on his game and see how it all develops. He is a character guy, a good player and someone who may get his chance this year to really blossom. There should be more competition at wide receiver, so we will find out how Baskett fits in during the spring and in training camp.