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Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith Showing Signs of Year Two Improvements 

Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith Showing Signs of Year Two Improvements 


The first-year returns for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s unprecedented spending spree last offseason were mostly positive.

New England acquired a Pro Bowler in Matt Judon, Hunter Henry finished tied for the league-lead in touchdowns by a tight end (9), Kendrick Bourne proved to be a diamond in the rough, cornerback Jalen Mills held his own in his matchups and is now emerging as an even bigger contributor in his second season with the team, and the arrow is pointing upward on defensive tackle Davon Godchaux as well.

Along with selecting quarterback Mac Jones with their top pick in the first round, the Patriots upgraded roster improved the team’s record by three wins and got them back to the playoffs.

However, two players who didn’t have the production that the Patriots were hoping for were wide receiver Nelson Agholor and tight end Jonnu Smith. Agholor and Smith had just 818 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns combined despite signing significant free-agent deals.

Smith is under contract for three more seasons, so he’ll be a part of the team’s plans, but Agholor’s two-year deal expires at the end of the 2022 season. Due to his contractual status, some have speculated that Agholor could be the odd man out in the Pats wide receiver room.

Trading Agholor feels like a premature move that could create more depth issues than it’s worth for a team that isn’t in a position to be jettisoning NFL talent at the wide receiver position, an area where the Patriots have been searching for years now to find productive players.

Although the early returns on second-round pick Tyquan Thornton and trade acquisition DeVante Parker are overwhelmingly optimistic, Agholor is clearly an NFL receiver capable of contributing to an offense. With Thornton still in his first season and Parker’s injury history, Agholor could find himself in a featured role. Plus, he’s having a strong training camp.

In the second joint practice with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, Agholor was New England’s…

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