: Nelson Agholor
Reuben Frank of CSN Philly:
Paul Turner has been the Eagles’ second-best wide receiver this preseason, the best if you consider that Jordan Matthews has been out a couple weeks. Turner has done what you hoped Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff would do. Make plays. Flash. His highlight-reel one-hander from Chase Daniel for 23 yards to set up a touchdown in the third quarter is the kind of play we’ve been waiting to see Agholor make. Turner is an undrafted rookie free agent from Louisiana Tech, and Agholor is a second-year first-round pick, but Turner is flashing in a way that Agholor hasn’t. This team is desperate for wide receivers. So far, one guy is making plays. Not only does Turner deserve to make the team, he’s quickly showing that he deserves to play.
Turner may be worth a look late in drafts. The Eagles are hurting at receiver and the new regime isn't going to show favoritism to Agholor if someone else is outplaying him.
The longest reception by an Eagles wideout went for 10 ...
The longest reception by an Eagles wideout went for 10 yards in their opening preseason game. It belonged to Paul Turner, an undrafted rookie from Louisiana Tech, who also was the team's leading receiver for the evening, with six catches for 34 yards.
The two longest receptions went to tight ends - 19 yards to Zach Ertz and 16 to M.J. McFarland. With Jordan Matthews sidelined by a knee injury, the field was wide open for 2015 No. 1 pick Nelson Agholor, 2014 third-round pick Josh Huff, former Giants second-round pick Rueben Randle, or former Rams and Ravens starter Chris Givens to step up and make a case.
None of them did. Turner was the lone bright spot. Eagles quarterbacks passed for 114 yards, with several drops.
The Eagle receivers couldn't get a lot of separation against the Bucs. Randle played uninspired, admitting camp has taken a toll on him. Agholor played 32 snaps and was target twice but didn't catch a pass. This is an area to watch for potential fantasy owners to hopefully see some improvement in their next contest. Outside of Matthews, there isn't a lot of excitement from a fantasy standpoint right now.
The Eagles’ running backs and wide receivers won’t be near any lists for the top groups in the NFL, but their offensive hopes go beyond those skill positions. Look for the tight ends to fill a major role in the offense, with Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, and Trey Burton all a part of the passing game.
“Tight end is a strength of this roster, this offensive unit,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “If you look at Doug’s [Pederson] system and what they did in Kansas City with their tight ends and how we’ll utilize them here, it’ll be very consistent with that, and we’ve got the players to do it. We can mix it up. They’re all real good, smart route runners – every one of them. So, we expect really good production from that unit.”
Ertz will be the biggest contributor of the group. Ertz caught 75 passes last season for 854 yards and two touchdowns. The receiving yards and touchdowns could see a jump this season. There were five tight ends who led their teams in receiving yards last season. Ertz might join that group that season. Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, and Darren Sproles will all be big parts of the passing offense, but the best mismatch could come from Ertz.
We had a story Sunday on the Eagles looking to involve Trey Burton in the offense, someone who has been a relative unknown with only two years in the league and three career catches. Expect him to split out wide and/or come out of the backfield. Celek is more than a capable receiver, but the safe fantasy bet seems to be Ertz here, and the story talked a lot about his skills.
Eagles WR Nelson Agholor said that he doesn't have personal goals as far as traditional statistics go - as is his nature - but he does want to catch a higher percentage of passes thrown in his direction.
"My responsibility is something that relates to accountability," Agholor said. "So when an opportunity comes my way, I have a percentage of opportunities that I must focus on reaching so my team can move the chains and my team can do well."
The new Eagles coaches watched the film. Did they see a receiver who could develop into a depending option?
"The film that I saw last year, I saw flashes of it," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said.
But the flashes were clouded by mistakes - a fumble here, a penalty there, dropped passes everywhere. Agholor wasn't the only Eagles receiver to struggle in hanging onto the football last season. And he hasn't been the only one during camp. The Eagles are averaging about five drops per practice this summer, the story said. The piece added Agholor should get his chances as last year the Eagles used a rotation at WR. If he can't separate himself, the Birds could got back to a rotation approach.
Eagles HC Doug Pederson continues to rotate the receivers in and out of the first team offense with Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Chris Givens, Rueben Randle and Josh Huff as the primary players.
Matthews will spend the bulk of his time lining up from the slot, but he still sees time on the outside.
There’s competition for the “X” receiver spot, which is the DeSean Jackson-receiver role in Andy Reid’s offense. That guy is ideally the game-breaker, the outside receiver the quarterback needs to rely on the most because he typically starts on the short side of the field. Givens has the most speed of the group. Agholor has the most riding on his success. Randle may have the most talent of the three.
Huff’s role may morph. He’s received a lot of screens over the last week.
The big question is who plays on the outside. The Birds have rotated WRs in the past but it seems like the team hopes Agholor and Randle earn the outside jobs with Givens speed getting mixed in. Overall it's not an impressive group but, as they say, someone will have to catch the balls. Factor in a slower-paced offense, and the Eagles just don't have a lot of highly-desired fantasy weapons.
Assuming he isn't suspended for an incident last month ...
Assuming he isn't suspended for an incident last month at a Philadelphia strip club, WR Nelson Agholor will enter training camp as the No. 2 receiver, and the team's top option on the outside.
That could be a problem for the Eagles, as Agholor had a disastrous rookie season due to a combination of drops and injuries. Things haven't gotten much better for Agholor, who once again dealt with drops during OTAs. If Agholor is once again going to be a nonfactor this season, the Eagles need to figure it out quickly, and find a way to replace him.
Hard to believe we're already hearing about the possibility of the Eagles having to replace Agholor, but that's life in the NFL. The team signed Rueben Randle to also play on the outside while Jordan Matthews is the probably the team's top target playing the slot. Overall, the Eagles WRs as a whole aren't very strong. Agholor is ranked 110th on our list but so far is a late round flier at the position with an ADP of the 17th round.
Philadelphia police are investigating an allegation that Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor sexually assaulted an exotic dancer Thursday at a South Philadelphia strip club.
The Eagles on Friday confirmed that Agholor was being investigated by police.
We're just passing this along. Agholor isn't high on our draft board this year, and this certainly doesn't help.
If they awarded an MVP trophy to the best player in shorts and helmets, Nelson Agholor would take home that prize this spring. Agholor's route-running has improved by leaps and bounds from his rookie campaign in 2015, he caught several contested balls throughout OTAs and seems to have a renewed commitment towards turning the page on his lackluster 23-reception rookie year. Agholor even purchased a JUGS machine for his house and invited several teammates over to get in extra work catching balls from it.
It's good to hear that Agholor is having a good offseason because his rookie year was a major disappointment. Doug Pederson's slower-paced offense may not be able to support three pass catchers (Jordan Matthews, Zach Ertz and maybe Agholor), but his 12th-round ADP makes him a cheap investment.
Nelson Agholor was active. The Eagles (desperately?) need him to elevate his play in his sophomore season. They would love for Agholor to develop into a home run hitter, but I’m not sure that he’s a receiver who can consistently take the lid off a secondary. But he has looked smoother running a variety of other routes. He caught an early seam pass from Carson Wentz, a post in the middle of a zone from Sam Bradford and, in perhaps his best moment, caught a comeback throw after he had turned cornerback Eric Rowe around. If Agholor can’t be a consistent deep threat, the Eagles might need to turn to free-agent addition Chris Givens during the season.
Agholor was a 5th round fantasy pick, and failed miserably to live up to that billing. The Eagles' offense is going to run at a much slower pace this year under new HC Doug Pederson, so it's an offense that will have difficulty supporting more than Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz as bona fide fantasy starters.
For the first time in his NFL career, Rueben Randle won't be wearing a Giants uniform. After four years in New York, the free agent receiver is jumping ship for a division rival.
The 24-year-old agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Eagles on Wednesday, the team announced. Randle's agent, Vincent Taylor, told NFL.com that the deal includes $500,000 in guaranteed money and can be worth up to $3 million if Randle meets all of his incentives.
Before the Eagles added Randle on Wednesday, new coach Doug Pederson had mentioned that Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews would be the top two outside receivers heading into OTAs. If that doesn't change, Randle will likely compete against Josh Huff for playing time at the No. 3 receiver spot.
Randle will likely compete with Josh Huff for WR3 duties, but he could push the unimpressive Nelson Agholor for snaps as the team's WR2. Randle has largely been a fantasy disappointment, but he did finish as the #28 WR (standard) in 2015 and #37 the year before.
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