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Finding Weakness in Zones
Agholor comes in motion and it’s clear that Stanford is in zone coverage as there is no one following him while he motions across the formation. At the snap of the ball, he does a good job of finding a soft spot in the underneath coverage and runs his route in between the hook and curl zones of #10 and #4.
Again, Agholor does a great job of identifying the soft spot in the zone and sits his route right in the window.
Pre-snap, the SAM linebacker (strong-side linebacker) starts early into his curl/flat zone right where Agholor is going to run his spot route. Instead of sitting at the end of the route, Agholor slides over into the next window which allows him to catch the ball in open space.
Working Back to the QB
One of the great qualities I noticed right away when watching film on Agholor was that he almost never quit on a play. He always found a way to try to get open and had a propensity to work his way back to the QB, making himself available for the pass.
Bad Habits
It wasn’t all good as there were some bad habits. The four plays below demonstrate one of my biggest pet peeves when watching film on Agholor.
Whether it was running a flat route or a bubble screen, Agholor had a bad habit of backpedaling into these routes. This is very passive as it not only declares what your intentions are to the defense right away but it greatly hinders your ability after the catch.
As soon as Agholor backpedals into this bubble screen, the safety (#3) quickly identifies this and drives on the ball to help stop Agholor for a minimal gain.
He’s a non-threat here as he does the same thing again.
I believe this play was a crucial turning point in the game. It’s 3rd and 2 and the Trojans are up 9. USC needs to either score a TD and put the game out of reach, convert the third down to continue killing time off the clock, or at least come away with a field goal. A bubble screen is called and Agholor backpedals into his route yet again. Notice the safety (#3), remember him? He sees this right away and this time tackles Agholor behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 6 yards. #3, by the way, is Damarious Randall who is one of the top-rated safeties in this year’s draft and is indicative of the type of talent that Agholor is going to see in the NFL every Sunday. By not being in a position to catch the ball in stride, it not only cost him the first down but crucial yardage. USC would commit a false start penalty on the following play which would effectively put them out of field goal range, forcing them to punt. Having come away from the drive with no score and no first down given up, Arizona State would go on to win this game in dramatic fashion off of a Hail Mary pass to Jaelen Strong as time expired.
Pro Comparisons and Projections
Pro Comparison: Many project Agholor to be primarily a slot receiver at the next level. His agility and route running would serve him well for the role. He doesn’t have a big enough frame to fight off press coverage but putting him in the slot would hide his deficiency in this area. Although that’s not to say that he can’t put on more weight and become a solid #2 receiver in the future. A player that immediately comes to mind when thinking of a comparison for Agholor is Julian Edelman. They both win in the short and intermediate areas of the field and rely on their agility and route running to keep the chains moving.
Draft Projection: Being labeled as a slot receiver puts a ceiling on his potential though and teams would be hesitant in investing a high round draft pick for a player relegated only to slot duties. However, teams can also view him as a Z receiver who would kick inside on 3-wide sets. Having the ability to contribute right away in the return game also boosts his stock, and I believe he hears his name called in the 2nd round.
