August 04, 2017

Mike Quick (incorrectly) believes Nelson Agholor is Eagles' most-talented wideout

By Matt Mullin
PhillyVoice Staff

It seems like former Eagles wide receiver and five-time Pro Bowler Mike Quick got his weekend fun off to an early start. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain what the team radio broadcaster said Friday morning.

Mike Quick: "There's NO wide receiver on this roster that has more talent than Nelson Agholor." 😳

Woah. #Eagles
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) August 4, 2017

Come again?

Sure, Nelson Agholor has been having a solid camp, but so have plenty of others, including some former undrafted free agents, one of whom used to be a quarterback. So saying he's been the most surprising – or even that he's been the best in camp so far – wouldn't be inaccurate. To claim he's the most talented? That would be difficult (read: pretty much impossible) to defend.

First, there's free-agent acquisitions Alshon Jeffery, a former Pro Bowler, and Torrey Smith, who despite two down seasons in San Francisco still caught at least as many TDs each year as Agholor has caught in his career (3). Both have experience on their new teammate, not to mention the numbers to back it up.

But maybe Quick forgot about them, because, well, they're new and he hasn't yet broadcast a game with either wideout wearing Eagles green. Even still, do we have any evidence that Agholor is better than the team's other projected starter, Jordan Matthews, who led Eagles wideouts in receptions (twice as many as Agholor last year), yards (also twice as many) and touchdowns (one more than Agholor in 2016) each of the last two seasons?

Agholor is faster and more explosive than Matthews, but both players have had their troubles with dropped passes in crucial spots. Based on athletic ability alone, it should be Agholor – and the fact that Matthews has been far more productive is an indictment of Agholor more than anything else. It suggests that Agholor, who, unlike the other three receivers we mentioned, was a first-round pick, should be better than some of his counterparts, but it just hasn't translated to on-field success.

If Agholor was severely undersized or slow and was still putting up decent numbers, perhaps an argument could be made that "no wide receiver on this roster that has more talent" than he does. The problem is he's not, and he hasn't.

We don't even know for sure if Agholor is better than rookie Mack Hollins. The UNC product likely won't see the targets Agholor saw in his first two seasons now that the Eagles have two veteran wideouts on the outside and Matthews penciled in as the slot receiver, but as a fourth-round pick, not a ton is expected from him right out of the gate.

It's one thing to suggest Agholor is due for breakout year, but saying he's the team's most-talented ... that's a bit much.

Unless, of course, Quick was solely basing his opinion on music selection.