His locker is tucked in the middle of wide receiver row in the Eagles NovaCare Complex, to the right of DeSean Jackson, to the left of Kevin Curtis, and down a couple of stalls from Jeremy Maclin. Just where Jason Avant wants it: In the traffic jam. In an unassuming part of a suddenly-crowded and glamorous section of the room, and of the offensive lineup.
The Eagles have the kind of wide receiver corps, top to bottom, that they have never had. Jackson is the headliner, the big-play superstar-to-be who is off to a dazzling start in his second NFL season. Maclin, who figures to see more and more playing time in the coming weeks, is brimming with talent. Curtis, nursing a knee injury, caught 77 passes a couple of years ago and was a force late in the drive to the 2008 NFC Championship Game. Reggie Brown, a rising talent once upon a time, is probably the most talented No. 5 wide receiver in the league. Rookie Brandon Gibson had a fine preseason and appears to have a bright future.
And then there is Avant, a fourth-round draft pick in 2006 who is aptly nicknamed The Slot Machine by the Eagles' Media Relations Department. Of the 31 catches Avant has made on third down in his career, 27 have gone for first downs. Sixteen of his 18 third-down catches last year moved the chains. All four of his catches on third down this season have resulted in first downs.
He is money on third down. From the slot, where all the hustle and bustle happens. To make it there, a receiver has to be strong to get off of press coverage, and he has to find cracks in coverage and get to spots and then catch a missle of a pass that gets up in his face very, very quickly. It is not a job for the faint of heart. The Eagles happen to think that they have one of the best in the league in Avant.
All of the praise falls on Avant's deaf ears. He is a different kind of man in the media-hyped world in which we live. Avant isn't here for the money, for the attention. He has his own interests.
"Everybody has a different motive for why they play the game, and my primary motive is to use this opportunity to tell people about Jesus Christ," said Avant. "That is my main goal. My second goal is to go out there and play as hard as I can and that's what I do. My coach in college told me you should never count catches. Just do your job. Go play hard and do what you can to help the team win."
How about the money?
"I play because I love to play. I don't get caught up in money. When you get caught up in money, you can be bought. And I don't ever want to be a person like that."
Avant grew up a religious person in a religious family then took the Bible to heart as a young adult. He admits that the Bible turned his life around as a freshman at Michigan long after accepting Jesus Christ as his savior early in his life.
"It changed my whole mindset, and I decided I would rather play for fun rather than think about statistics. Let me give you an example. Say you have a goal to catch 7 or 8 passes in a game, and then you go out and catch 2," he said. "You're going to be disappointed, right? Well, what if you worked hard to get open, but the quarterback threw to somebody else? You can't control that right? All you can control is how hard you play and if you do everything you can to help the team win.
"That's all I care about. I love playing football and I love working hard and those are the things I can control. I would rather be satisfied knowing that I gave every effort that I could on every play more than thinking about how many catches I had."
Avant isn't caught up in any of the nonsense that rules the league these days. Oh, the game is great and better than ever, but too many young players are caught up in the "Me" Generation. Avant doesn't focus on that side of things. He is quiet, unassuming and one of the most reliable, go-to receivers in the league, especially on third downs.
It is quite a niche to have. Avant does the dirty work -- "I guess I always have. To me, none of it is dirty work. I just do what the coaches ask me to do," he says. -- and you don't hear a peep out of the guy. No doubt that opposing defensive coordinators are aware of Avant and that they circle his number during practice in the days before playing the Eagles. Avant lives in the slot -- The Slot Machine, of course -- and he runs a variety of routes that criss-cross the defense and allow him to get into a sliver of light to make plays.
Amid all of the star power the Eagles have at wide receiver -- Jackson should be a strong candidate to make the Pro Bowl this year, and Maclin's talent is undeniable -- Avant is the glue. He keeps the sticks moving and as more and more people notice, he is content going out every week and doing his job. The less glamorous, the better for Avant. His personality fits his job requirement: Be determined, be tough and do your work.
And in the end, good deeds will be rewarded. That is Avant's Word, and that is his purpose.
