Agholor shows he’s able to give Eagles a hand
LANDOVER, MD. » Through the minicamps and the OTAs, into and out of training camp, in the preseason games and in so many locker-room whispers, the Eagles were quick to share an observation and a prediction.
Nelson Agholor was improving. And with that, he would thrive.
One day into the regular season, the Birds were able to supply some evidence, as in a 30-17 victory over the Washington Redskins Sunday, Agholor would catch six passes for 86 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown. Yes, he held onto passes. Yes, he provided Carson Wentz with a consistent outlet, often from the slot, often on third down.
Yes, the 2015 first-round draft choice is a major reason why the Eagles are 1-0.
“Yeah, I think it was big for him,” Wentz said. “But honestly, going back to the offseason, I just saw a more confident player. I saw that he was working and we were always talking about what he could do different. Different things. And you just kind of see a new, confident player.
“Starting the season off the way he did was huge for him.”
The season was three minutes and 32 seconds old when Agholor showed that he could hang onto a pass. That’s when he sprinted into the secondary and caught a third-and-12 heave from Wentz before sprinting into the end zone. Twice more before halftime, he would help the Eagles convert on third down, including with 41 seconds left as they were driving toward a go-ahead field goal.
Suddenly, his offseason of public torment was over. “It is what it is,” Agholor said. “I don’t want to think about any of those things. I want to think about being me. I want to focus on being Nelson and enjoying Nelson working hard. And I am a part of a great wide-receiving corps that works hard every day. On any day, it could be somebody’s night. But you have to give it up for your brothers in that room and make the plays when they come to you.”
That’s what the Eagles were expecting when they made Agholor the 20th overall draft choice out of USC in 2015. Yet they rarely saw enough of it during his first two NFL seasons. Still, they were willing to trade receiver Jordan Matthews to Buffalo in August, a hint that they believed Agholor could provide what he did Sunday.
It did not take him long to prove them correct.
“Obviously, that first touchdown, I am very excited for him and the offense,” Doug Pederson said. “But looking forward, he has a high confidence level. I’ve honestly seen it all spring and all summer. And it’s right where I expect him to be. It just carried over in the game today.
“He made some great plays, some good thirddown plays. He kept us on the field. For him, this is the first step to the type of receiver he can be and will be for us. This is the reason he was drafted so high.”
There are 15 more scheduled opportunities for Agholor to prove as much.
“I can play well wherever I need to in order to help this team win football games,” he said. “I can play outside. I can play inside. And I will do what I need to do in the slot, if that’s where I am at.”
That much, he never doubted, even if he had little evidence that he could … or believers that he would.
“We keep fighting,” he said. “We keep fighting every day. And that’s the mentality of an Eagle, not worrying about the past, just worrying about getting up every day to compete and to get better and let the chips fall where they may.
“Hard work and a lot of focus puts you in a position to be special.”