The New England Patriots have a very specific job for receiver Nelson Agholor. He creates space for the rest of the offense. Maybe he doesn’t get as many receptions (32), fourth on the team, despite his 595 snaps, second among Patriots receivers, and targets (54), second on the team.
But Agholor is getting his job done, so long as he is assisting his teammates in creating separation. It’s not as simple as saying that the production of tight end Hunter Henry and receivers Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers is a credit to Agholor. But there’s definitely a connection.
ESPN’s Seth Walder drew up a chart that showed he’s running deep fades and go routes — both routes where the receiver runs straight downfield — more than most receivers in the NFL. Meanwhile, he’s barely running shallow routes, like a flat, a hitch or a short out.
Here’s a look.
Anyway, for contrast, here's Nelson Agholor. Who has one of the highest rates for Go routes *and* deep fades. pic.twitter.com/3yfMzcvBhp
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) December 6, 2021
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This shouldn’t come a surprise to folks watching the games — and to those who are familiar with Agholor’s strengths that he showed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. Agholor proved a reliable deep threat when paired with quarterback Derek Carr. They made for an impressive duo that could stretch the field.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and Agholor have not developed that same connection. But they haven’t needed to. Jones and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels have a way of chewing up defenses by dialing up short throws. That’s working so well, in part, because defenses have to respect Agholor when he’s streaking downfield. It also shows why he’s less efficient than most receivers on the Patriots, catching just 59.3% of his targets, sixth-best on the Patriots.
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