Nelson Agholor Slot
You better believe that Eagles slot receiver Nelson Aguilar was doing some major dancing when 4 o’clock passed on Wednesday afternoon because at 4:01pm Agholor was guaranteed to make $9.4 million in the upcoming NFL season. The Eagles could have called him before that time and let him know that they were going to let him become a free agent. Instead the Birds informed him with their silence that they wanted him to remain on the roster at $9.4 million a year.
Most of the local sports reporters thought Eagles head coach Doug Peterson was just praising Agholor to make him more attractive to other teams when he talked about him at the NFL Combine. Here’s what Pederson had to say about Agholor.
“Nelson? Oh, yeah, man, love this guy”, Pederson began. “He’s the first one in, last one out. Can’t say enough good things about Nelson Agholor and what he’s brought on the table and what he will continue to bring. I think last year, you look at the amount of guys we had, and of course we added Golden [Tate] midseason. Listen, I’m not going to stand up here and say it didn’t affect Nelson, because I think it did. The question was asked earlier about trying to get everyone the ball, and it’s a challenge when you break down a game. Nelson didn’t complain, he came to work every single day, he put in the time, he put in the work, and it was a huge part of what we did, and getting us into the Divisional Round this year. I’m excited, I love working with him and I think there’s great things ahead.”
Agholor’s agent couldn’t have said it any better. Pederson was letting Agholor know and other Eagles players know that if you do the right thing, they will take care of you. The head coach made it very clear about how the team felt about the way Agholor played last season. Pederson spoke honestly, when he said that the acquisition of veteran slot receiver Golden Tate hurt Agholor’s production in the 2018 season. I happen to agree with him whole-heartedly. How could you argue against it?
Agholor and Tate play the same position, which is slot receiver. When they took Agholor off the field and put Tate in there at the slot receiver position they were taking catches and yards from the former Southern California star. On weekly basis both Pederson and offensive coordinator Mike Groh were fielding questions about when and how they were going to get the ball to Tate. As the weeks went on, you could see the Birds going out of their way to find plays to run in order to get the football in Tate’s hands. This was at the expense of Agholor.
Jeremiah's explanation on why Agholor would be the starting slot receiver is because he's more dynamic than Matthews, which would jibe with Reich's comments there. Agholor has run just 18.6 percent of his routes from the slot as a rookie in 2015 and 22.0 percent in 2016. Jordan Matthews has been very productive for the Eagles from the slot. Since entering the league in 2014 he has the most receiving yards from the slot with 2389, the second most receptions at 198, and tied for the third most touchdowns.
It would have very easy for Agholor, who had helped the Birds win a Super Bowl the previous year to blow up, at them bringing in a receiver at his position, then going out of their way to get him the football. Pederson made a big point, when he said Agholor didn’t complain about it or stop working, he continued to practice and play as hard as he could possibly do. That’s the attitude that helped the Birds win the Super Bowl. That unselfish team first attitude is what Agholor displayed. The head coach made sure he expressed his appreciation of Agholor’s attitude because the young slot receiver had plenty of reasons to be angry about the situation.
If you were to add up Aguilar’s 64 catches and 736 yards to Tate’s 30 catches and 278 yards, you would wind up with 94 catches for 1,014 yards, which would be a considered a very good year for a slot receiver. Agholor will be 26 in May, so Pederson believes there’s plenty of production up the road. The acquisition of DeSean Jackson will help give Agholor more room to operate and more chances to make plays. Plus they like the fact that Agholor is a willing blocker and talented ball carrier on reverses. Add to that his punt return ability and you can understand why they decided to let him play at the $9.4 million a year salary.
To put this in perspective, the New York Jets just signed former Washington Redskins slot receiver Jamison Crowder to a three-year deal, worth a total of $28.5 million dollars. Last year Crowder played in only nine games. He caught 29 passes for 388 yards with two touchdowns, but the Jets acquired him at a salary averaging $9.5 million dollars a year.
Agholor was much more productive than Crowder in the 2018 season, so he at least deserved that same level of salary, if not more. Remember also that Agholor was a key weapon in the Birds Super Bowl year. How many Super Bowls has Crowder helped his team win?
Nelson Agholor Slot Game
I expect Howie Roseman to sign Agholor to a healthy extension during the upcoming season, if everything goes as planned.
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NFL training camp, by nature, gets boring and repetitive.
It’s the same 90 guys, day in and day out, running the same plays in the same schemes over and over again as teams try and nail the fundamentals.
Sometimes a little intensity is what is needed — which is just what camp has brought out of Nelson Agholor and Malcolm Jenkins.
As Agholor prepares to assume the role of No. 1 slot receiver, replacing the departed Jordan Matthews, he’s seen a lot of safety Jenkins — who often drops to the line to cover the slot wideout.
In 1-on-1 drills the two were shouting and shoving on nearly every rep, and the trash talk continued into team drills.
Neither man would divulge exactly what was said, but both were true teammates when the dust settled.
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“We’re just competing,” Jenkins said Monday. “It’s training camp. We’re out here trying to make each other better, especially in 1-on-1 drills. It’s just 1-on-1 and those can get pretty lively.”
“It was amazing,” Agholor said. “He’s a great player and I appreciate his intensity and everything he does and it’s only going to make me a better player.”
Jenkins has seen a lot and stands as one of the Eagles’ defensive locker room leaders and a grizzled veteran. A proud trash talker, he is also a reliable scout of talent. And he sees talent in Agholor who enters his third season looking to buck an absolutely dreadful 2016 campaign.
“He’s honestly in my opinion probably the most talented receiver we have,” Jenkins said. “Hes quick, he’s probaby the best route runner we have, I think he’s going to be a great compliment in the slot for us. He showed up in the spring a different guy. He’s catching the ball a lot better than he has in the past, he’s confident on a day-to-day bais on how he goes about his work and how he’s competing, even if he has a bad play it’s not lingering to the next. He has confidence and he is sure of himself.”
Players are eager to face different competition, and the Bills coming to town Thursday will give them a chance to see how they stack up against a different defensive look. But as long as the intensity and hard work continues in the NovaCare Complex the Eagles should be right where they want to be when the season kicks off. Especially Jenkins and Agholor.
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“I am ready for it all,” Agholor said. “He’s coming for me every down. That’s the kind of guy Malcolm is and I have a lot of respect for that.”