There are a lot of rumblings these days in Philadelphia, and with good reason. The Sixers spent years losing on purpose and… still kind of suck. The Phillies managed to miss the playoffs in a shortened season where pretty much everyone made the playoffs. And the Eagles, sporting a gawdy 2-4-1 record in the worst division in the history of the world, and desperate for any sort of healthy WR, let go of Nelson Agholor.
Here’s the case for grabbing Agholor off the Fantasy Week 8 Waiver Wire:
He has steadily improved game by game this year, enjoying a larger chunk of the aerial pie each week. In six games so far, he has managed to score four touchdowns, including three straight weeks hitting paydirt. After only being targeted once in each of his first two games of the year, he was targeted nine times last week, catching five and putting up 107 yards and a score.
Meanwhile, the supposed Raiders “number one WR,” Henry Ruggs, was only targeted three times. Agholor led the Raiders WRs with 51 snaps. Indeed, Agholor characteristically dropped two balls, but this is after hauling in 10 of his first 11 targets on the year.
The recent trends really suggest that Agholor may be weaseling his way into Derek Carr’s heart and is going to assume that role.
“Nelson has been such a huge pickup and such a great player for us,” Carr said. “I’m sure there’s a few plays he wants back, but I told him I’m going to keep throwing it, so just keep doing what you’re doing.”
And it’s (surprise) an important role. The Raiders average a little over 28 points scored per game, but they also give up a whopping 32. Those numbers are great for fantasy purposes—you don’t expect to see much running out the clock ball control, and there’s a good chance they’re going to need to keep scoring all game to compensate for a less than stellar defense.
Jon Gruden also sung Agholor’s praises, gushing:
“He can get deep,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “He’s good after the catch, and he’s versatile. … Nelly is going to be a hard guy to get off the field.”
Currently, Agholor is owned in (wait for it) 1.8% of ESPN leagues, so there’s a pretty good chance he’s available in yours. With a couple of big WR injuries having left a lot of folks looking for replacements, you could do a lot worse than Agholor to fill those vacancies.
Entering this week, Agholor has yet to crack The Wolf’s Rest of Season Big Board. But expect Carr’s No. 1 wideout to make his debut this week.
