: Nelson Agholor
At some point, and maybe soon, Eagles WR Nelson Agholor needs to get some first-team reps. He’s very impressive. He might already be their best outside wideout. Riley Cooper and Josh Huff get almost all of the first-team outside reps, but the argument can be made that Agholor is already better.
Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. He’s expected to win a starting job, likely outside opposite Riley Cooper (or Josh Huff) with Jordan Matthews in the slot. If that’s the case, he’ll definitely be a fantasy factor as a rookie.
Eagles camp notes from Monday:- Jordan Matthews get...
Eagles camp notes from Monday:
- Jordan Matthews gets my “Camper of the Day” award. Practices that limit contact tend to highlight the passing game and those mostly involved, but Matthews had a standout performance by any estimate. He did most of his damage from the slot. I think we’ll see more of Matthews on the outside than we did last year, but why limit his effectiveness when there probably isn’t another option as comparable on the roster? Most of his catches came from Sam Bradford and there were a variety.
- DeMarco Murray was back in action after sitting out team and 7-on-7 drills yesterday. He said it was a coach’s decision to limit his action on the first day of camp. I’m not sure why he would need to rest after a six-week layoff, but he looked fine on Monday. He didn’t seem to go 100 percent when he was involved, but after last season when he logged almost 500 touches, it doesn’t seem necessary for Murray to push himself this early.
- A day after taking all of the first team repetitions at quarterback, Bradford was under center for the majority. He looked a little more comfortable on Day 2.
- Mark Sanchez took his first series of snaps with the first team. I’m not sure that constitutes as a quarterback competition, but it’s a start. His best toss during the series was downfield to Huff on a comeback route. Working with the second team, Sanchez knew who would butter his bread. He kept going to Nelson Agholor on the outside. The rookie wide receiver continued to get the best of rookie corner Eric Rowe. Contact at the line is limited, so I wouldn’t make any assumptions about Rowe just yet, but Agholor has looked more than competent.
- Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow split third team reps again. If Kelly wants a pure quarterback at the third spot, the job is clearly Barkley’s. But if he wants someone that has an “X” factor or can be effective in zone read plays, then Tebow would seem to have the advantage.
- The Eagles practiced punt returns and the returners were Darren Sproles, Agholor, Matthews, Kenjon Barner, Riley Cooper and Miles Austin.
Eagles QB Sam Bradford is expected to be ready for 11-on-11 drills, a sign that nothing has gone horribly wrong during his last few weeks of rehab from a torn ACL that cost him all of last season. All indications are that nothing has changed on that front, and Bradford should be on the field when the team begins full-team drills. At least, that is what it sounds like rookie receiver Nelson Agholor, who recently worked out with Bradford, recently had to say to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He's moving great. That's something the organization can share," Agholor said. "But to me, he looks great, he looks healthy."
It was made official Sunday morning, Bradford was cleared for camp with no restrictions. Bradford has said for a while he expected to be ready for the start of camp unless something went wrong. The Birds open camp today. HC Chip Kelly has indicated this is a QB competition with Mark Sanchez, but most of those who follow the team find that hard to believe and this has to be Bradford's job. Bradford is ranked 18th on our QB list and makes for a sleeper QB2 pick in drafts as long as he continues to progress through camp. From Mike Vick, to Nick Foles, to Sanchez, all have put up very usable fantasy numbers in Kelly's offense.
Beat writer Jimmy Kempski broke down the Eagles' WR competition:
In my view, I think it'd be crazy to take Jordan Matthews off the field. The Eagles mostly stay in three wide receiver sets, and in those situations, expect Matthews to resume his role in the slot. However, when they go with two wides, Matthews should stay in and line up on the outside.
I also expect Nelson Agholor to start Week 1, and produce immediately. He just looks like the real deal to me.
So the real battle here is Josh Huff vs Riley Cooper vs Miles Austin. Huff has the most natural ability and explosion of the three, but he needs to refine some of the more nuanced aspects of the position. The Eagles would love to see Huff go out and earn more playing time, but they're not just going to hand it to him. Their opinion of Cooper is clearly far higher than yours is.
This comes on the heels of another column declaring Josh Huff as the biggest breakout candidate in the Eagles' receiving corps. Agholor figures to have the edge, as reports have been almost universally positive this offseason. Ultimately, we see Matthews, Agholor and Huff playing the most snaps, but it may not happen early or even this season. Chip Kelly likes Cooper more than the rest of us do.
With Jeremy Maclin now in Kansas City, many expected the Eagles to move Jordan Matthews to the outside, and line Josh Huff up in the slot. That is not, however, what the plan is. Huff has been lining up with the first team offense on the outside in Maclin's place, with Matthews remaining in the slot.
Huff could see some time inside, but the plan is for Huff to run many of the same routes Maclin did -- including going deep. Huff is the quickest receiver on the team, and the Eagles will be giving him a chance to stretch the field, much like DeSean Jackson did two seasons ago.
Ask Riley Cooper how much the Eagles like their receivers to be able to block, and he will respond by pointing out he played 980 snaps last season, second most on the team. That is a good sign for Huff, who is perhaps the second-best run-blocking receiver on the Eagles, behind only Cooper. Huff should be able to stay on the field, and keep rookie Nelson Agholor off of it, by being a strong run blocker.
When the team drafted Agholor, it was assumed that he would start. That could still end up being the case, and Agholor has the skills to be a star in the NFL. It will be Huff, however, that gets the first crack at the starting job, with Agholor on the bench.
Agholor could end up taking one of the starting spots, from Huff or Cooper, but he will have to do it in training camp, and won't be handed the job.
The prevailing assumption is that Agholor will start alongside Matthews, who could play outside or in the slot. If Matthews is in the slot, then there's an opening for Huff or Cooper on the other side. Then there's the matter of Zach Ertz, who is rumored to be in line for more snaps as he pushes Brent Celek for the starting job. Ertz could also play more in two-TE sets, but that will send two of the aforementioned receivers to the bench. Training camp will be key for all the Eagles' receivers -- the only player seemingly assured of a big role is Matthews.
According to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity, Eagles QB Sam Bradford is "looking great", has been in the rehab room close to every day this summer, and should be ready to go when training camp opens.
That means Bradford should be out on the field for 11-on-11 drills for the start of training camp.
If Bradford is fully healthy and wins the starting job, then he's a threat to post low-end QB1 numbers in Chip Kelly's offense, which has been fantasy friendly towards quarterbacks over the last two seasons. The team is dealing with turnover at receiver, losing DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in consecutive years, but Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz should be able to pick up the slack.
Eagles beat writer Sheil Kapadia was asked which rookies would contribute in 2015:
Nelson Agholor is going to play a lot of snaps; that's a guarantee. Whether it's in the slot or on the outside, expect Jordan Matthews-type snaps/production out of him.
Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. He’s expected to win a starting job, likely outside opposite Riley Cooper with Jordan Matthews in the slot. If that’s the case, he’ll be a fantasy factor as a rookie. Matthews finished #25 in PPR formats as a rookie last season. That sort of production is certainly feasible for Agholor if he plays starter's snaps and the team gets good play out of the quarterback position.
Former scout and current NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah joined Rob Ellis and Harry Mayes on 97.5 The Fanatic to offer his thoughts on the state of the Eagles heading into camp.
Nelson Agholor came up in the conversation. While Jeremiah might not be totally on board with the NFL exec that thinks Agholor is a number one receiver, he is high on the former USC wideout.
"I think he's a big-time guy. Ideally to me he is a great number two, I don't think in terms of the size and physicality that I would want in my number one guy, but I think he can be an outstanding number two," he said. "There's a lot of guys with his skill set that have been very, very successful. Emmanuel Sanders is who he reminds me of, and we've seen what he can do both in Pittsburgh and out in Denver. I think he's outstanding. He's very tough and he's very instinctive and I think he's one of these guys that we saw last year where all these rookies jumped right in, no adjustment period; I think he's going to fall into that [category]. He's going to jump right in and be ready to go."
Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. He’s expected to win a starting job, likely on the outside with Jordan Matthews continuing to man the slot in three-WR sets.
First-round pick WR Nelson Agholor worked almost primarily with the second and third team offenses during the Philadelphia Eagles' spring practices. Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper and Josh Huff all worked ahead of him. According to one NFL executive, this won't be the case for very long.
"He should be good, real good,'' the executive said to Mark Eckel, of True Jersey. "I'd bet on him. He'll come in and produce right away. He has the right mentality and just a great approach to the game. He's going to help them.''
The exec believes that Agholor's arrival will also help Matthews reach a higher level of play.
The Eagles need a WR1 with the departure of Jeremy Maclin. This exec also said he thinks Matthews is a nice WR, but not a number one; however the two will work well together. Rookie WRs don't always come in and put up big numbers, but perhaps that trend is starting to show signs of changing a bit. Given the Eagles offense and the amount of plays they like to run, Agholor is at least in a good offensive situation. We have Agholor ranked 39th among our WRs which puts him as a low-end WR4. His ADP, though, is the 8th round in ten team leagues - a round or two, or even three, higher than a lot of the guys ranked around him. There may be some safer options on the board to think about.
As Chip Kelly likes to say, it is only June, and the depth chart at this point is almost meaningless. Still, it is pretty clear so far that the Eagles starting receivers on the outside are going to be Riley Cooper and Josh Huff, with Jordan Matthews in the slot. Rookie Nelson Agholor will certainly factor into the rotation, but it is Huff's job to lose right now. Agholor has been up-and-down in camp, making some impressive catches, but he had a bad drop on Wednesday. Huff, meanwhile, had a nice catch that would have gone for a touchdown in a game.
This is mildly surprising, but it's something to monitor as the offseason wears on. It sounds as if Huff has made strides since last year and is currently playing ahead of Agholor. If this continues, then Huff would be fantasy relevant while Agholor will struggle to make much of an impact in limited snaps. Keep in mind that Cooper is hardly entrenched in a starting role after a rough 2014 campaign.
- Never Start an Injured Player
- Get the latest news, content and rankings updates in your inbox.
- Close