Grading the Las Vegas Raiders additions on offense
Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Nelson Agholor with the 20th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and it’s safe to say his career has been a roller coaster with more recent downs than ups. Aside from two good seasons in 2017 and 2018, the former USC Trojan has struggled to make much of an impact when given the opportunity.
His Eagles tenure started ignominiously as he managed only 23 catches his rookie season and somehow ended even worse his struggles lead him to become more known as a meme than a football player. Agholor has famously struggled with drops and after seemingly putting those problems behind him during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, they resurfaced in dramatic fashion last season and it was clear that his confidence was shot.
Eagles fans and media are not the most gentle with struggling players and the constant criticism surely did him no favors. When he is confident and in the right situation as a number 3 or 4 receiver then he has shown he can be a gamebreaker. Five of his eighteen career touchdowns have been 40 yards or longer and has shown that he can be reliable in the right situation.
This signing comes down solely to the expectations the Raiders have of the former Eagle. If the Raiders make no further moves at receiver and come in to the season with Agholor as WR2 then the offense will be in serious trouble.
However most signs point to the Raiders using one of their two first round picks on a receiver after addressing their major need at linebacker through free agency. If Agholor can find his form from 2017 or 2018 then the Raiders will have a nice complementary weapon to add to Derek Carr’s arsenal and if not, then he will just be the next guy out the revolving door that is the Raiders WR corps.