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Eagles Select USC WR Nelson Agholor With 20th Overall Pick

By Joseph Santoliquito

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — So much for the Marcus Mariota fantasies. There was no trade, and regardless of any speculation about players being offered, the reality was the Eagles selected 6-foot, 198-pound Nelson Agholor out of USC with the 20th overall pick.

The choice may fulfill a need at wide receiver, replacing the departed Jeremy Maclin, who signed with his former coach, Andy Reid, and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Agholor selection makes sense from that perspective, considering Agholor ran the same 4.42-second 40 as Maclin. Agholor caught 104 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 TDs in 2014 for the Trojans.

Some compare him to Maclin, others to Green Bay wide receiver Randall Cobb. He returned four punts for touchdowns with the Trojans. He is a precise route runner, though his lithe frame makes him a question whether he can get free from pressing, physical corners. He is quick off the line, and has good speed to get down the field. He's also not afraid to go over the middle, and is elusive in space.

The new Eagles' skill core will now consist of Sam Bradford at quarterback, DeMarco Murray as the Eagles' key rusher, and a thin wide receiver core of Jordan Matthes, Riley Cooper and now Agholor.

Agholor is someone Eagles' coach Chip Kelly knew, from playing against him in the Pac-12. Agholor is a hands catcher. Whether or not he can stretch a defense is a question.

"He's a real good guy, a real smart guy, he's very versatile," Kelly said of Agholor. "We were looking at the best players. We thought there was a lot of talented guys on the board and (Agholor) fit in what we like do. Sam Bradford is on schedule, and when we traded for him, the following Sunday, he was in here (at the NovaCare Complex). He can run around. We're really in the infancy stages of our off-season program. I like the guys we have right now. We wanted to get another guy in that (receiver) depth. (Agholor) was our highest rated player. He was too good to pass up. I know Nelson is a good fit for us."

Kelly said Agholor fits in inside and outside well. His size is similar to Maclin's.

"He's a dymanic returner and excel at both positions here," Kelly said. "I saw (Agholor) first hand when we played against him. He had six catches for 162 yards in front of my face, so I know he's a productive player since he was a freshman, and he just kept getting better and better."

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