We knew the Baltimore Ravens would be quiet this offseason and with the wide receiver market being weak to begin with it was tough to see the quick fix for the team at that position. This is why signing someone like Nelson Agholor makes plenty of sense.
It is not the fix of all fixes, and they could still draft the position, but it puts them in a better spot and did not cost them much. Agholor was a former first-round pick and won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. What else should fans know about wide receiver Nelson Agholor?
3. Baltimore Ravens can move Nelson Agholor in and out of the slot
When Nelson Agholor was drafted there was a question about whether he would be an outside wide receiver, or if he was going to be better in the slot. Throughout his career, he has moved in and out of both. In 2017 he spent 86% of his snaps in the slot, 55% in 2018, and 65% in 2019.
However, since then he has moved outside a bit more. In 2020 he played outside 33%, then in 2021, it was down to 9.7%. He was back up to 30% in the slot last season, but that is a big change. He produced in 2017 in the slot, but his second-best season was 2020 on the outside.
The Ravens can move him inside and outside. We will see where Devin Duvernay ends up on the depth chart, but for now, that should push him back to the slot. He played 60% of his snaps in the slot in 2021, but because of all of the outside injuries, Duvernay was in the slot just 33% of the time last season.
It will be interesting to see which player plays in the slot more, or if they add a wide receiver who can play outside, meaning both of them will compete for slot snaps.
2. Baltimore Ravens will use Nelson Agholor as a deep threat
The big difference between the depth chart today and from the season is swapping out Demarcus Robinson for Nelson Agholor. Robinson was supposed to be bringing a deep-field presence to the Ravens. However, quarterbacks were 2-13 targeting him deep down the field last season, per PFF. On the flip side, Nelson Agholor was 4-12 deep down the field. It is two more catches, but 61 yards for Robinson and 126 for Agholor. He is a much bigger deep threat.
Last season 24% of his targets were deep balls. Only Rashod Bateman was targeted down the field more on the Ravens last year. During the season before, Agholor had a 29.5% deep ball rate. In 2020, it was 28%, and he had 11 catches on 23 targets. He put up 444 yards on passes thrown 20 yards downfield One of the big reasons Agholor went in the first round was his deep speed. He is clearly a deep threat when things are clicking.
The hope is that he can upgrade from what Demarcus Robinson did in that role, and at least take deep attention away from Rashod Bateman.
1. The drops are a concern for Nelson Agholor
You have probably heard and seen the drops get talked about from Nelson Agholor. This is not just the fans from Philadelphia getting on him about a play or two, this is a big issue. Per PFF, his career drop rate is 9.5%. Last season he had four drops and was 11.4%.
To be fair to him, Bateman had more drops and a higher drop rate last season. Still, 11.4% is the third worst rate in the NFL, and his career rate would have been the 12th worst, so it is not like that is much better.
This is going to be an issue, and he is not going to be the answer for the Baltimore Ravens. The need for a wide receiver is probably still the biggest one on the board. The fact that he can move inside and outside does help because the team does not have to force a fit.
Beyond that, they are not as desperate. If they take a cornerback in round one, they may be able to wait and add someone in round three to complete the room. Still, it would be nice to add a big name in the draft, make the life of Bateman easier, and then have Agholor and Duvernay as the three and four.