Philadelphia Eagles: Will Nelson Agholor come full circle vs Seattle?

After possibly playing the worst game of his career in Seattle last season, Nelson Agholor returns to Century Link Field a different player for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nelson Agholor was drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, and immediately had high expectations placed upon him. Agholor was expected to immediately fill the void that was left from the departures of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.

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While at USC, Agholor showed a ton of potential and raw talent. The quick, shifty receiver was looking to make an impact at the NFL level. Even though Agholor showed glimpses of that potential, his first two seasons were extremely disappointing.

Over his first two seasons, Agholor caught 59-balls for 648-yards and just three touchdowns. The biggest issue of all for Agholor was by far and away his drops. The third-year receiver only caught about 52-percent of the balls thrown his way in his first two seasons.

Agholor’s issues all culminated when the Eagles traveled to Seattle last season to take on the Seahawks, in a game where the former USC Trojan, obviously struggling, made two of his biggest blunders of the 2016 season.

The first came when he was lined up improperly which was called for an illegal formation that cost the Eagles what would have been a touchdown on a long screen pass. His other blunder came when he dropped a wide-open pass from Carson Wentz over the middle of the field.

It’s not like Agholor did not measure up to NFL cornerbacks. On that same play when he was wide open, Agholor made all-pro cornerback Richard Sherman look silly as he easily beat Sherman on that route.

After the game, while being interviewed by the media, Agholor for the first time admitted that he has been struggling with confidence issues. Something that at this point of the season, had become very obvious.

During his rookie season, Agholor suffered an ankle sprain and was never able to get quite right. It impacted his route running, and most of all it impacted his confidence. After having a down rookie year that only saw him haul in one touchdown catch, Agholor came into the 2016 season with a lot to prove.

Even after a strong opening to the 2016 season, Agholor was never able to get quite right. The drop issues that plagued him during his rookie season amplified during 2016 and became a huge issue around the team. After the loss to Seattle, Agholor’s issues have reached its climax.

Many fans were calling for the Eagles to cut Agholor, but the Eagles held onto him as they knew he had a lot of untapped potential.

Prior to the following game against Green Bay, the Eagles announced that Agholor would be a healthy scratch, the Eagles decided it would be best for both the player and the team if he were to take a mental break.

After returning following his scratch, Agholor looked a bit better, but far from the receiver that the Eagles hoped he could be. It was still very obvious that he was struggling with the mental side of the game, and that is an issue Agholor strove to fix going into the 2017 season.

Hard to recall a bigger mental turnaround in a year for player than Nelson Agholor in Philly sports.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) November 26, 2017

Once OTAs began this past spring, all reports pointed to a different Agholor. A new number and a fresh start has instilled some much-needed confidence in the third year receiver. As the off-season progressed into training camp, Agholor continued to turn heads leading into what possibly could be a turnaround season.

If there was one play that not just set the tone for the Eagles season, but for more specifically Agholor’s season, was the first touchdown of the season. When Wentz made an incredible play and threw a deep ball to Agholor who hauled it in for the touchdown. That was just the beginning of what has been an unexpected turnaround for Agholor in 2017.

Through 11-games this season, Agholor has caught 33-passes for 458-yards and 6 touchdowns, adding a seventh on a fumble recovery this past week. He is on pace to surpass his combined total yardage from his first two seasons, and has already doubled the three touchdown catches he had in 2015 and 2016 combined.

In addition to those impressive numbers, the drops that plagued Agholor for much of his first two seasons have disappeared as he has a newly instilled confidence. It really is a beautiful thing what some confidence can do for an athlete.

On the 10-1 Eagles, Agholor is not just in the conversation as a comeback player of the year, but he has quickly established himself as one of the best slot receivers in the NFL. That is something the Eagles had hoped for when they traded Jordan Matthews back in August, and Agholor has not disappointed filling into the slot.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles: Nelson Agholor halts three-game slide

Now over one year since Agholor hit a personal low in the Eagles loss to Seattle, Number 13 returns to Seattle a different player and a different man. The Eagles never gave up on Agholor, and his rapid rise has been a fun one to watch. This Sunday, he comes full circle back to where it all came crumbling down. But now, he is built back up and ready to shine for the Eagles.

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Will Nelson Agholor come full circle this weekend in Seattle?

By Jake Starr | Nov 29, 2017

After possibly playing the worst game of his career in Seattle last season, Nelson Agholor returns to Century Link Field a different player for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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