The Las Vegas Raiders brought Nelson Agholor on a prove-it deal last offseason, and he did all of that and more, playing his way out of Las Vegas.
Nelson Agholor is known as a man of varying faces. On one side, you had the USC star receiver who was a Super Bowl hero for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Then, you had the receiver known for many dropped passes, which was immortalized in a now-famous viral video.
In 2020, and the Nelson Agholor that Raiders fans were treated to was nothing like the latter.
Agholor enjoyed a return-to-form-like season in 2020 as a Raider. Signing for a one-year prove-it deal, Agholor certainly proved himself, as he was the best receiving option for the Raiders this past season outside of Darren Waller.
With nearly 900 yards receiving and eight receiving touchdowns, Agholor was a key cog in a season that nearly saw the Raiders return to the playoffs.
Agholor played his way out of the Raiders financial plans
The season was so fruitful that Agholor has now left the Raiders for a two-year deal with the New England Patriots. The contract is well deserved for Agholor, and although the Raiders would have loved to have him back, it seems that it was no surprise in his departure after rumors spread of unrest among Agholor in the Raiders locker room.
We could look back and question a lot of things about Agholor, but one certainly would not be his play. One could argue that Agholor was possibly the best wide receiver option Derek Carr has had outside of Amari Cooper, apologizes to Michael Crabtree. With a successful year in a new offense, Agholor showed at the age of 27, he will be 28 in May, that he is in the prime of his career.
Las Vegas must act quickly to find a replacement, and they could possibly be back in contention for a receiver at pick No. 17 in this year’s draft, considering they did not get much production from 2020 first-round pick Henry Ruggs. The most likely scenario would be adding a veteran to go with their young wideouts, as the hope is they can get big play from Ruggs and fellow second-year wide receiver Bryan Edwards in 2021.
Whatever your opinion on Agholor may be, he proved himself in Las Vegas, and he did earn his new contract in New England.