Philadelphia Eagles: Nelson Agholor juking defenders and the bust label

The first two years of his career had him in ‘bust’ territory, but Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor is having fun and ballin in 2017.

If you turned on Philadelphia sports radio last season, you would have heard at least one out of every couple of callers complain about Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor. The 2015 first round pick only managed to compile 59 receptions, 648 yards, and three scores in his first two seasons with the Eagles. His lack of production and knack for dropping wide open passes made him an easy scapegoat in Philadelphia. The word bust was a legitimate thought for Agholor, but the third-year wide receiver has busted out of that label in 2017.

All offseason there was talk that Agholor would switch to the slot instead of playing on the outside, but with wide receiver Jordan Matthews already manning the slot, it seemed that Agholor’s playing time would be limited. That was until Howie Roseman, and the Eagles traded Matthews, and a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for cornerback Ronald Darby. At the time, the trade was a no-brainer, but now; Roseman looks like a mad scientist who sees the future.

Matthews was just placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. It ended his season where he only had 25 receptions, 283 yards, and one score. His injury and mediocre play aren’t the reason Roseman looks like a genius. Adding a No. 1 cornerback for Matthews and a draft pick aren’t either. Agholor’s resurgence and impressive play make this trade spectacular.

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With Matthews out of the fold, Agholor became the teams starting slot wide receiver. Now, I will be honest: I did not expect much from Agholor this season. However, I am a man that can always admit when he is wrong, so here it is: I was wrong. Agholor has been impressive in his third season and has become one of the Eagles biggest threats on offense.

Through 12 games this season, Agholor has already put up new career highs in all of the essential statistics. He currently has 40 receptions, 599 yards, and seven touchdowns. That puts him on pace to end the year with 53 receptions, almost 800 yards, and nine touchdowns. He averages an impressive 15 yards per reception to go with that and has been one of Carson Wentz’s favorite targets. In Week 13, Agholor looked like the best offensive player on the field for the Eagles, catching seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Had Wentz not been off in the game, Agholor should have had well over 200 yards and two scores.

I admitted I was wrong about Agholor, but I will even add that Agholor has been my favorite Eagle to watch on the offense this season. Why? You can see how much fun he is having playing the game. A big part of the poor start to his career looked to be mental. He never looked like he was n the game or having fun, but in 2017; this guy is flying around the field and having fun. Not only is he having fun, but he is also balling out!

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This 72-yard touchdown says it all. The play itself is fantastic, but what Agholor does after the score shows me all I need to see. He is clearly in a better place mentally this season, and he will only get better. He has become one of the more dangerous players when the ball is in his hand and transformed himself to one of the most hated players in Philadelphia, to one of the greatest stories this city has ever seen for an athlete. Not only has he been juking defenders all season; Agholor has also juked the “bust” label.