If you've watched the Eagles play any this year, including last night, you have to be impressed by Nelson Agholor. He looked like a bust in his first two seasons in the league, but here he is now having a breakout 3rd season.
It's a difficult transition from college to the NFL. Sometimes injuries are a factor, or poor quarterbacking, or a coaching staff and offensive system that isn't a good fit. Whatever the case, Agholor is one of six wide receivers drafted in the first round back in 2015, and he's having as good a third season as any of them -- better than most.
From 2005 through 2015, there were 42 wide receivers drafted in the third round. Project all of those 2015 first-rounders' numbers so far this year over a full season, and Agholor -- and Dolphin DeVante Parker -- are right up there with the best of the first-rounders. The other members of that draft class are either clearly looking like flops (Perriman, White, Dorsett) or disappointing after a strong first two seasons (Cooper).
So sometimes it takes a while, but Agholor looks pretty good right now.
Third-year numbers from first-round wideouts over the past decade (Agholor and other 2015 first-rounders, in bold, are projected over full season) are shown below.
| FIRST-ROUND WRS, 3RD-YEAR NUMBERS (2005-2015) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | No | Yds | TD |
| 2013 | 27 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 111 | 1521 | 11 |
| 2010 | 22 | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 94 | 1434 | 10 |
| 2011 | 4 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 98 | 1426 | 11 |
| 2010 | 24 | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 92 | 1382 | 12 |
| 2014 | 12 | Odell Beckham Jr., NYG | 101 | 1367 | 10 |
| 2014 | 7 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 96 | 1321 | 12 |
| 2005 | 3 | Braylon Edwards, Clev. | 80 | 1289 | 16 |
| 2005 | 27 | Roddy White, Atl. | 83 | 1202 | 6 |
| 2009 | 29 | Hakeem Nicks, NYG | 76 | 1192 | 7 |
| 2014 | 20 | Brandin Cooks, N.O. | 78 | 1173 | 8 |
| 2007 | 2 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 67 | 984 | 5 |
| 2009 | 7 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak. | 64 | 975 | 4 |
| 2009 | 22 | Percy Harvin, Minn. | 87 | 967 | 9 |
| 2015 | 14 | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 76 | 944 | 4 |
| 2014 | 28 | Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 63 | 941 | 7 |
| 2009 | 10 | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 72 | 874 | 4 |
| 2009 | 19 | Jeremy Maclin, Phil. | 63 | 859 | 5 |
| 2015 | 20 | Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 53 | 856 | 11 |
| 2012 | 13 | Michael Floyd, Ariz. | 47 | 841 | 6 |
| 2006 | 25 | Santonio Holmes, Pitt. | 55 | 821 | 5 |
| 2007 | 27 | Robert Meachem, N.O. | 45 | 722 | 9 |
| 2012 | 20 | Kendall Wright, Tenn. | 57 | 715 | 6 |
| 2007 | 23 | Dwayne Bowe, K.C. | 47 | 589 | 4 |
| 2011 | 6 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 41 | 580 | 2 |
| 2005 | 22 | Mark Clayton, Balt. | 48 | 531 | 0 |
| 2013 | 8 | Tavon Austin, St.L. | 52 | 473 | 10 |
| 2007 | 9 | Ted Ginn Jr., Mia. | 38 | 454 | 1 |
| 2014 | 4 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 28 | 430 | 2 |
| 2015 | 4 | Amari Cooper, Oak. | 42 | 378 | 3 |
| 2005 | 21 | Matt Jones, Jac. | 24 | 317 | 4 |
| 2009 | 30 | Kenny Britt, Tenn. | 17 | 289 | 3 |
| 2015 | 29 | Phillip Dorsett, Ind. | 13 | 272 | 0 |
| 2005 | 7 | Troy Williamson, Minn. | 18 | 240 | 1 |
| 2012 | 30 | A.J. Jenkins, S.F. | 9 | 93 | 0 |
| 2005 | 10 | Mike Williams, Det. | 7 | 90 | 0 |
| 2015 | 26 | Breshad Perriman, Balt. | 13 | 83 | 0 |
| 2007 | 30 | Craig Davis, S.D. | 6 | 52 | 0 |
| 2011 | 26 | Jon Baldwin, K.C. | 3 | 28 | 0 |
| 2015 | 7 | Kevin White, Chi. | 6 | 19 | 0 |
| 2013 | 29 | Cordarrelle Patterson, Minn. | 2 | 10 | 2 |
| 2012 | 5 | Justin Blackmon, Jac. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 32 | Anthony Gonzalez, Ind. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson