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Nelson Agholor: Former USC Trojan Finds Success with the Las Vegas Raiders

NFL wide receiver and former USC Trojan, Nelson Agholor, has stepped up and helped lead the Las Vegas Raiders to a winning season through Week 12 in the NFL.

Kim Becker

It may have been five years since Nelson Agholor dressed as a USC Trojan at the LA Memorial Coliseum, but he still has a bright future of football ahead of him. Agholor was a first round draft pick back in 2015 when the Philadelphia Eagles grabbed him at 20th overall. He spent five seasons with the Eagles before the Las Vegas Raiders signed him as a free agent before the 2020 season began. 

During his time at USC, Agholor caught 104 passes for 12 touchdowns and 1313 yards. He was also named Pac-12 First Team All-Conference as a senior in 2014. 

Although Agholor was often criticized for dropping the ball on big plays during his time in Philadelphia, he still put up some big numbers and was part of the Eagles team that won their first and only Super Bowl in 2017. After that year, he seemed to slide under the radar in the eyes of many. That is, until 2020. 

Alabama rookie, Henry Ruggs III, was drafted by the Raiders and expected to be the big play maker at the wide receiver position, but after an getting injured in Week 1, Nelson Agholor stepped in and has given Ruggs III a run for his money in becoming one of Raiders' quarterback, Derek Carr's, top receivers. Up until this point in the Raiders' regular season, Agholor has made 24 catches for 443 yards and six touchdowns. Six of those passes, and one touchdown, being in the game last Sunday against the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Agholor has caught 5 touchdowns for 20+ yards - the most in the league - and is tied with Chiefs' wide receiver, Tyreek Hill. 

A key reason Agholor believes he has held success with the Raiders so far this season is because of head coach Jon Gruden. 

"I chose this opportunity to make myself a better player, there is no better opportunity to play for a head coach that knows the receiver play and he can articulate ways you can, you know, get better", Agholor said in a press conference back in August, "being older is kinda cool because I'm actually really young, I can still relate a lot but I have played a lot of football so I bring experience."

A lot of that experience and attitude can be credited to Agholor's time as a Trojan, and his mentality remains to keep playing football to the best of his ability. 

"My role is wherever they wanna use me, I just play hard" (Agholor).

You can watch Agholor in action with the Las Vegas Raiders against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday morning at 10:00 AM Eastern.  

[READ: What the Extended Dead Period Means for the Recruiting Class of 2021]

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Kim Becker
KIM BECKER

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