Agholor Continues Strong Spring
PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - An afterthought in most Eagles' fans minds, Nelson Agholor continued to be the star of the spring at the NovaCare Complex on Thursday, hauling in two different bombs from Carson Wentz in team drills.
The former first-round pick, who has already been labeled a bust by most, has taken advantage of the absence of Jordan Matthews to excel as part of the team's base look, a three-receiver set featuring free-agent pickups Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith with Agholor working from the slot.
Matthews typically handles that job but has missed most of OTAs and all of minicamp with knee tendinitis.
Agholor fist got the best of Rasul Douglas, blowing by the rookie cornerback as Wentz, who was very sharp on Thursday and easily had his best practice of the spring, dropped the football in the bucket, about 50 yards down the field.
Later Agholor then got the best of the team's top cornerback, Jalen Mills.
"It sure seems like (Agholor) might have gotten quicker and more explosive this offseason," Wentz said after the practice. "He’s getting open, making plays."
ON-FIELD OBSERVATIONS:
-Wentz was extremely accurate on the day and had a tremendous rapport with Zach Ertz, as well as Agholor. His lone hiccup was a deep try for Torrey Smith that was overthrown and intercepted by Rodney McLeod.
-QB coach John DeFilippo unveiled a new drill for the QBs, simulating bad shotgun snaps. Nick Foles continued to miss the camp due to the birth of his first child so Matt McGloin again handled the second-team work while tryout player Dane Evans was the third-string signal caller.
-Wentz indicated after practice he would be inviting a group of players out to North Dakota during the dead period between minicamp and training camp.
-Isaac Seumalo and Allen Barbre continued to spilt first-team reps at left guard while Seumalo also got a few looks at center in place of Jason Kelce. On defense, second-year corner C.J. Smith got a look on the outside in the nickel package.
-Defensive end Steven Means and tight end Anthony Denham got into the second noticeable dust-up this spring. The prior one was Kelce vs. defensive tackle Gabe Wright.
-Marcus Smith paid for his snub of voluntary work, working as the seventh defensive end (out of seven) in individual drills behind Brandon Graham Vinny Curry, Chris Long, Derek Barnett, Means and Alex McCalister.
-The undersized McCalister, a 239-pound defensive end, was asked to cover a receiver in the slot on one occasion.
-Receiver Dorial Green-Beckham was absent today and the Eagles media relations staff did not have an update as to why.
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen