Nelson Agholor And the Transition To Year 2

Jordan Matthews pointed to one play in particular from Tuesday’s practice that signaled a return to form for Nelson Agholor.

“You can tell he’s back healthy. He caught a little short post today and the way he caught it, stuck his foot in the ground and got vertical? That’s the Nelson I’m used to knowing,” said Matthews. “Nelson’s transition from catch to run is crazy. I think he’s on a level that a lot of guys aren’t.”

In a sea of 90 top-level athletes, Agholor’s agility and burst stands out. It doesn’t take a trained eye to identify the elite physical gifts that the first-round pick out of USC possesses. They were equally evident last spring and summer, leading teammates and analysts alike to predict big things for Agholor in his rookie season.

Those predictions, of course, fell flat. Agholor caught just 23 passes for 283 yards, which ranked him 159th among NFL players in 2015. Of receivers who ran at least 300 routes, Agholor was dead last with 0.69 receiving yards per snap, according to Pro Football Focus.

A disappointing season, no doubt, though the injury factor needs to be included in the overall assessment. Agholor sustained a high-ankle sprain in Week 5 against New Orleans, sat out the next three games and was hampered by it for the better part of the season upon return.

“High ankle is no joke, especially for a guy like Nelson,” Matthews explained. “Nelson’s bouncy man, you can tell when he gets in and out of cuts and runs routes, it’s tap-tap-tap. And when you take that away from somebody, that’s one of the strengths that can definitely do something to you not just physically but mentally, too.”

Agholor refused to use injury as an excuse. And no matter the physical and mental toll, the 23-year-old pointed to a number of opportunities lost last season.

“I’m a man, I’ve always been a man about what I do and how I perform. I would never, ever say anything that I didn’t truly believe,” said Agholor. “And I believe that [when] I put the tape on, there were times where I did not seize that moment. I don’t care how many times I was targeted. Because if I caught every pass that came my way, that would mean more to me than if I was targeted 100 times and I caught only 40 percent of them. I need to make sure I have a high completion when targeted and I didn’t do that.”

To Agholor’s point, he was targeted 44 times last year and only came up with 23 receptions for a completion rate of 52 percent and was charged with four drops. Plenty of room for improvement there.

He’s taken some steps this offseason in the name of development. Bought a JUGS machine for his house so he can still work on his craft while away from the facility, and he’s practicing yoga to help with injury prevention. Asked if the scheme change will be to his benefit as well, Agholor wouldn’t compare Chip Kelly‘s system to Doug Pederson‘s directly, but his words were telling nonetheless.

“This year, the offense to me has done a great job in terms of getting guys in positions to execute different concepts, to execute against different coverages, that’s what it is. We’re not just calling stuff, we’re calling stuff that is best for coverage, and you’re put in position to beat coverage whether it’s two-man, quarters, Cover-2, you’re not just running a route, you’re going to find a way to get open in this system. I love it,” he said.

“It’s not freelancing, it is game planning honestly. You’re prepared for what you see. It’s not just, ‘OK, you have to do this.’ No, everybody gets open.”

Agholor might be the biggest x-factor on offense. If he blossoms and takes the lead alongside Matthews, this is suddenly a pretty potent receiving corps. If he doesn’t, it’s a totally different story.

He has studied other receivers and how they transitioned to Year 2. One name he mentioned several times was Reggie Wayne, who went from 27 catches for 345 yards in 13 games his rookie season (similar numbers to Agholor’s) to 49 catches for 716 yards his second year en route to a very productive career.

“Reggie got better in Year 2, and some other guys. I’ve heard all the numbers from Demaryius Thomas and all those types of people, they all got better in Year 2 and that’s what I’ve got to do — I’ve got to get better in Year 2.”