Eagles
Trade Reaction: The Spotlight is back on Nelson Agholor
Published11 Aug 2017
By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
The Eagles traded Jordan Matthews on Friday afternoon, creating room on the depth chart at slot receiver.
Matthews has occupied the slot for the last three seasons, where he has been highly productive. Few receivers have produced as consistently week in and week out the way that Matthews has since being drafted in 2014. Of all Eagles' receivers in their first three seasons, Matthews ranks third in receiving yards and first in receptions.
Prior to the trade, there was speculation surrounding Matthews's future in Philadelphia after Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network referred to Nelson Agholor as the Eagles' starting slot receiver. With the Agholor having an impressive training camp, it would appear that he will get first crack at being the new slot receiver.
While Agholor has done much to rebuild his confidence with a lessened role, his on field production is still a major question mark. Agholor's struggles have been no secret as the former first round pick has averaged 29.5 receptions and 324 yards per season in his first two years. In those two seasons Agholor has only scored three touchdowns.
Agholor defied convention last season when he did not dress for a game in order to clear his head and take a mental breather from the game after dropping open passes on a seemingly weekly basis.
It appears as though the additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith had allowed Agholor chance to operate in obscurity, something the he seemed to cherish. Agholor entered camp with a renewed confidence knowing that he was not entering as a starter.
Free to focus on his game and not what was being said about him publicly, Agholor has made plays daily in offseason workouts.
The assumed depth chart saw Agholor as the fourth receiver with Jeffery, Smith, and Matthews holding down the first three slots. Now with Matthews joining the Bills, Agholor will be thrusted back into the starting lineup, and with it, the spotlight that he struggled mightily under in his first two seasons.
The saving grace for Agholor is that he will be playing in a position that he is yet to receive considerable time at. Agholor has played almost exclusively as an outside receiver during his time in the NFL, and now will move to the slot where he his skillset can thrive.
Agholor's most praised trait is his quickness. Across the league slot receivers like Cole Beasley and Julian Edelman consistently slice through defenses by being elusive and quick in and out of their routes.
For Agholor, his route running must improve. Fortunately, new receivers' coach Mike Groh has put on emphasis on receiver fundamentals and Agholor has passed the eye test in this regard during camp so far.
If Agholor can use his natural quickness out of the slot and run clean routes, he has the potential to become a difference maker i the slot.
It is easy to forget just how high the expectations were for Nelson Agholor. He was a consensus first round talent in the 2015 NFL Draft coming out of USC and the pass-heavy PAC-12. Agholor came to Philadelphia following the Eagles' decision to part ways with Jeremy Maclin, and Agholor was often compared to Maclin as a draft prospect.
While the receiver play of the last few seasons has been underwhelming, Nelson Agholor has been perhaps the most underwhelming. Jordan Matthews was the one bright spot in a receiving core that routinely dropped passes and failed to produce.
With Matthews gone, suddenly the Eagles are relying on the one player that fans were almost universally wishing to ship out of town this offseason.
Agholor should be commended for soldiering through the hostile environment that is the Philadelphia sports landscape. No matter how much of the criticism was warranted, Agholor applied himself, and so far this offseason he has done everything in his power to open a new chapter in his career.
With the foundation re-poured, Agholor can now try to build off of the positives that he has had this summer, and the Eagles are giving him the perfect opportunity to showcase exactly what he can do.
