Is Former Eagles 1st-Round Pick Nelson Agholor Becoming a Bust?

By Denny Basens, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

When the Philadelphia Eagles spent a first-round draft pick on wide receiver Nelson Agholor a year ago, expectations were high. 

Agholor was touted as a polished, NFL-ready receiver coming out of college, and even drew strong comparisons to Jeremy Maclin, the guy he was being drafted to replace. 

However, Agholor didn't exactly do anything to make Philadelphia mistake him for Maclin in his rookie season, finishing with a rather pathetic 23 catches for just 283 yards and only one touchdown, hardly the kind of production the Eagles wanted to get from a guy who was not only their first-round pick, but also a starter for the majority of the season. 

Agholor's struggles were somewhat forgivable last year, however. He suffered a high ankle sprain early in the season, causing him to miss a good chunk of time, and that also may have hampered him after his return. The other issue was that I don't believe former head coach Chip Kelly made nearly enough of an effort to get the rookie involved in the offensive gameplan on a weekly basis.

But now with a clean bill of health and a fresh start, Agholor is still failing to live up the expectations that were attached to him, and it's beginning to get to the point where followers of the team should be concerned about whether or not the USC product will be able to put it all together in the NFL or not.

Agholor was a mess in the preseason opener against Tampa Bay. He was unable to get any separation from defenders while running his routes. He gave a very poor blocking effort on a wide receiver screen to Josh Huff, resulting in a loss of yardage. And he showed a lack of concentration, allowing a catchable pass from Carson Wentz to go right through his hands.  

So what's wrong with Agholor?

Right now it appears that he's lost a lot of his confidence. His lack of success early in his career may have shaken him up and impacted his game, as can often happen to younger players. He appears timid, and doesn't always appear sure of where he's supposed to be or what he's supposed to be doing, which has led to a lot of the mental mistakes and errors he's been prone to. 

But the problem for Agholor may go beyond just his mental errors. When examining Agholor's game, what does he do well or what traits does he have that would strike fear into an opponent? 

Agholor is quick, but doesn't have elite speed. He certainly doesn't have reliable hands, as shown by the frequent drops in his career. He's not small, but he doesn't have great size either. When you look at his skillset, you see a guy that brings a lot of simply average to above-average traits to the table. This is the kind of player who may turn out to be a decent second or third receiver, but that's their ceiling. Agholor just doesn't seem to be equipped with the skills to become anything more than that. 

Is that good enough for a guy who was a first-round pick? When you can't identify areas of play where a player excels, that's a disturbing sign. 

The Eagles desperately need some of their young wideouts to step up and emerge as a viable threat to keep defenses honest. Agholor has the talent to be that guy, but if the drive to be great isn't there inside of him, things will unravel for him very quickly this season.