During his three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Andy Reid has never had a wide receiver with more than 63 catches, or one who posted more than 833 yards.

But when the salary-cap casualty floodgates sprung open nearly three weeks ago, sending experienced wide receivers like Keenan McCardell and Antonio Freeman into the market, Reid and vice president Joe Banner never once considered reaching for the telephone to contact any of the free agents suddenly available to them.

	Freddie Mitchell caught 21 passes for 283 yards as a rookie.

And so the key to the Eagles' passing game success in the 2002 season, beyond the continued development of quarterback Donovan McNabb, of course, will have to come from the emergence of a young wideout corps that should be ready to blossom in Reid's version of the West Coast offense. Without uttering even a syllable, the silence of the Philadelphia management team speaks volumes for the confidence it possesses in the young wideouts, and that endorsement hasn't been lost on the players.

"To me, basically, it says they believe in us," said second-year veteran Freddie Mitchell, the Eagles' first-round choice in the 2001 draft, but a player who had only 21 catches and one touchdown in his rookie season. "They feel like we're maturing, coming along at a good enough pace, and getting our feet on the ground in the system."

Indeed, the Eagles will count on their wide receivers to get their feet into the end zone more often this year -- they combined for just 15 touchdown catches in 2001 -- as they become increasingly assimilated into a sophisticated passing game that rarely produces immediate results.

With nearly $10 million in available salary cap space, the most well stocked war chest in the NFL, it would have been easy for Philadelphia to pursue a veteran free agent such as Derrick Alexander. But the Eagles will count, instead, on players like Todd Pinkston, Na Brown, Mitchell and Dameane Douglas to progress.

Entering his fourth season, Reid obviously believes that youth must not only be served at the wide receiver spots, but must also be serviceable.

It is, upon close inspection of the NFC East, a philosophy that has spread throughout the entire division.

The top eight wide receivers from the NFC East in 2001 -- excluding those from Arizona, which is no longer in the division, with the new realignment -- average 28.6 years of age. That number figures to be reduced in 2002 as the Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and New York Giants either continue the youth movements commenced a few years ago or embark on initiatives that will lead to a greening of their receiver corps.

It is not by mistake, for instance, that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones invested a No. 2 pick on University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Bryant, a gifted but enigmatic wideout whose stock dropped because of perceived attitude problems. Incumbent starters Raghib Ismail and Joey Galloway, after all, appear to be entering their NFL dotage.

Galloway, 30, has not had more than 52 receptions in a season since 1998. The 32-year-old Ismail, who has started just 22 games the past two seasons because of injuries, had 80 receptions in 1999 but registered just 78 total catches over the ensuing two years. Part of the dropoff in production can be tied to the inconsistent play of Dallas quarterbacks, but there is also no denying the Cowboys' receiving corps needs an infusion of youth.

At some point soon, younger receivers like Bryant, Ken-Yon Rambo and Richmond Flowers will have to turn potential into production. "There are opportunities," allowed quarterback coach Wade Wilson this spring, "for the younger people to step up."

That is true throughout the division as some older receivers -- Joe Jurevicius (Giants), Michael Westbrook (Redskins), Charles Johnson and Torrance Small (Eagles), among others -- have departed the NFC East the past couple years.

The NFC East remains a division more rooted in the running game. But it is also a division where a champion has not defended its title since Dallas won consecutive crowns in 1995 and '96. And a division in which the four franchises have each claimed one title since 1998. In short, it is a division where every advantage is magnified, and where the maturation of younger receivers can catapult a team into the postseason in 2002.

One such receiver might be Jacquez Green, the four-year veteran who was a part-time starter in Tampa Bay but never quite lived up to expectations. Working in the same offensive design in which he excelled at the University of Florida, he likely will top his previous career best for catches, and is "head and shoulders" above every other Washington receiver right now, according to one club official.

There figures to be a pretty dramatic overhaul of the division's wide receiver corps in the next few seasons and, while all four teams will be party to the transformation, none might be more poised for the changeover than the Giants, who quietly have added more speed to their offensive mix.

Amani Toomer remains a productive player but Ike Hilliard, who continues to be slowed by a foot injury, could be history by 2003. In youngsters Ron Dixon, Jonathan Carter, Tim Carter and Daryl Jones, the Giants have all the ingredients for a "new look" passing game, and maybe an Olympic sprint relay team as well.

"We've got some young guys who can really fly," Toomer acknowledged after a recent minicamp session. "When they mature, look out, because they all can run."

For decades, the NFC East has been synonymous with stodgy football. The perception of the division was that of a group of teams mired in the football Stone Age, where speed and spontaneity were subjugated in favor of slow-moving and predictable ground games. That probably won't be the case much longer.

Not too long ago it would have been deemed heretical to suggest an NFC East franchise would rely on its passing game for quantum improvement. That dinosaur rationale is a mindset of the past.

For Philadelphia to close the gap on the St. Louis team, which defeated it in the NFC championship game, the young wide receivers have to mature into playmakers. Count the talented but talkative Mitchell among those who feel they will.

"Everything is coming so much more naturally now," he said, "that we can't help but be a lot better. And a lot better gets us to the big game, you know?"

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.