Nelson Agholor continues to struggle with basic functions of his job.
In Sunday's loss alone, the former first-round pick couldn't get lined up correctly -- as his receivers coach screamed from the sideline -- causing a penalty that wiped away a scoring play. Agholor followed that up with another drop on what would have been at least a 25-yard play. In 64 snaps, Agholor had zero catches on three official targets -- he scored on a late two-point try that doesn't count towards season stats.
Agholor has dropped numerous passes and doesn't help his rookie quarterback. He's earned 27 receptions for just 264 yards this season. Agholor sits 87th in the NFL in receiving yards among wideouts, which puts him behind such luminaries as Robby Anderson, Seth Roberts, Taylor Gabriel and Chris Conley, to name four. Pro Football Focus ranks Agholor their 119th rated receiver out of 119 eligible players.
On Monday, coach Doug Pederson didn't rule out sitting Nelson down to clear his head.
"I will definitely have a conversation with Nelson and I'll address that as we get later in the week," Pederson said, via Philly Mag. "Those are definitely concerns that I have, now that he's obviously come out and said that publicly. My concern is for him as an individual, as a person. I want to make sure he's in a good spot. Hey, listen, put football aside. We all know about that. But I want to make sure him as a person, he's doing good. So we'll have that conversation during the week."
The Eagles signed local cult hero Paul Turner off the practice squad Monday, which will no doubt lead the local electorate to cry louder for Nelson's benching in favor of the rookie.
Pederson added that it could take a benching for the former first-round pick to clear his head.
"Sometimes, sometimes -- and this is just me speaking, it's not a decision by any means -- but sometimes you have to take a step back in order to go forward," said Pederson. "Sometimes that can help clear your head. I remember as a quarterback back in 1999 when Andy [Reid] pulled me out and put Donovan [McNabb] in, it was a step back to possibly go forward and see it differently. And that way, too, you can begin to clear your head and see it where you don't have the pressure of performing on you all the time."
How much a head-clearing session helps in the long-run is a case-by-case basis. Back in 1999, Pederson, a career backup getting his first starting chance, was benched in three straight games in Weeks 2-4 in the second half for McNabb, then a rookie. Pederson finally lost the job to McNabb for good in Week 10.
When Chip Kelly drafted Agholor in the first round, the Eagles thought they were getting a field-stretching weapon to replace DeSean Jackson. Instead, they've gotten a head case with stone hands.
