Nelson Agholor has finally arrived for Philadelphia Eagles
After only five weeks of the NFL 2017 season, Nelson Agholor is quickly becoming one of the most interesting stories of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his 72-yard touchdown in Week 5 has fans excited about his potential.
For the past two seasons, Nelson Agholor was considered a major disappointment for the Philadelphia Eagles while earning the label for being a bust by fans and experts across the country. Many even considered his struggles weren’t even related to his talent level, but more of a mental standpoint.
Agholor dropped a lot of passes last year and for the most part, did not look like he was a starting wide receiver in the NFL. However, Agholor did not give up on himself and neither did the coaches or teammates, as he was simply too talented of a player to be written off.
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Over the summer Agholor became a fan favorite at training camp, catching seemingly everything thrown his way, and leaving defenders in the dust. It was even reported that Agholor had reached the fastest-recorded speed of anyone on the team at 21.9 mph during training camp.
Throughout the summer, Agholor was not expected to be a starter for the regular season, but when the Eagles traded away Jordan Matthews for Ronald Darby, the former first-round pick was thrown into the slot position.
At USC, Agholor had a lot of action playing from the slot. However, in the NFL, he was assigned out wide for his first two seasons, and as mentioned before, the results were below expectations. But since Agholor’s move to the slot, he has appeared to be a much better football player for the Eagles.
Through the first five weeks of the season, Agholor has caught three touchdown passes, tied with Odell Beckham Jr. and Dez Bryant for the most by any receiver in the division. Agholor is also the only wide receiver in the NFL with two 50-yard touchdown catches.
During Agholor’s 72-yard touchdown reception in Week 5, the wideout reached 20.82 mph on his touchdown. According to the NFL’s next gen stats, that is the fastest an Eagles player has gone so far in 2017.
After Week 5, Agholor has caught 70 percent of the passes thrown his way, which is the highest percentage of any receiver on the team with over 20 targets. Almost equally impressive is the fact that he leads all Philadelphia receivers in both touchdown catches and receiving yards, so it looks like all of those issues about not being able to catch the football are gone.
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Agholor is finally starting to look like the player drafted back in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, as his speed, quickness, and sure hands have been on display through all five games.
To put it simply, Agholor is playing at an entirely new level this season. His transition to the slot is paying dividends for the entire team, as the offense has put up the second most points in the NFC and has helped the team get to a 4-1 record.
Keep up the good work, Agholor!