Is USC WR Nelson Agholor Worthy of a First-Round Pick?

The hype train for receiver Nelson Agholor is gaining steam, and it might not slow down until the USC star is off the board during the first round of the 2015 NFL draft. 

Agholor has mostly flown under the radar during another banner year for the receiver position. In a draft class with Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker and even the mercurial Dorial Green-Beckham stealing all of the headlines, a sub-200-pound receiver like Agholor can be easily forgotten as a potential first-round pick. 

Not so fast, says Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network. The former NFL scout thinks Agholor has top-32 potential, via Bryan Fischer of NFL.com. 

"You can play him outside, you can play him inside," Jeremiah said. "I know he has a slight frame but he has burst and can also return punts and kicks. He has a lot of value and is a very, very bright guy who has impressed teams with his football knowledge. The top of the second round is where I have him, in the 30s, but I can easily see him sliding up into the first round."

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Metrics also like Agholor. 

Football Outsiders uses a model called "Playmaker Score" to project collegiate receivers into the NFL. The system uses a variety of statistical measures gathered since 1996 to both predict professional functionality and compare players to receivers of the past 20 or so years. 

According to this year's projections, which were complied for ESPN Insider by Nathan Forster, Agholor ranks as the second-best receiver in the 2015 class, trailing only Cooper. The system matched him with Terry Glenn (No. 7 overall pick in the 1996 draft) and Ike Hilliard (No. 7 overall pick in the 1997 draft) among historical comparisons. 

Agholor's score was likely helped along by a strong "peak" year last season, in which he caught 104 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns. The "Playmaker Score" model is built off of production on a per-attempt basis, and Agholor's 104 catches and 12 touchdowns were impressive considering USC threw only 460 times in 2014. He caught nearly a third of the offense's 318 completions. 

For comparison's sake, White caught 109 passes and scored 10 touchdowns last season, but West Virginia threw the football 534 times. Meanwhile, Parker failed to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a single season despite playing a full four years at Louisville (of which two were with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater). 

Agholor has also excelled during the pre-draft process.

Concerns about his long speed were calmed at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds. It wasn't the top speed among receivers, but a sub 4.45-second time and a seventh-place finish at his position were more than good enough. 

The question now is just how high Agholor can go, especially within a draft that is packed with talent at receiver and just one year removed from a historic class of incoming pass-catchers. 

Comparing Agholor to prospects of the past is probably the best way to project his stock. 

One scout likened him to former USC teammate Marqise Lee, per Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

"Very similar to Marqise Lee," the scout said. "Slender build. Good speed, not special speed. Good hands. Probably will make his mark early as a returner. He can line up in all the spots inside and outside."

Harry How/Getty Images

Lee was the sixth receiver off the board last spring. The Jacksonville Jaguars took him at No. 39 overall, which set off a drafting spree of seven receivers in last year's second round. Agholor has been widely perceived as a Day 2 player. 

Jeremiah picked Emmanuel Sanders of the Denver Broncos as Agholor's NFL doppelganger. 

"Agholor and Sanders are both smooth athletes who make hay as excellent route-runners," Jeremiah wrote back in February. "They possess the toughness to work in high-traffic areas of the field and are also slippery after the catch."

Sanders wasn't drafted until the No. 82 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He's since turned out to be a real steal. After hauling in six scores for the Steelers in 2013, Sanders moved on to Denver and caught a career-high 101 passes for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns for Peyton Manning and the Broncos last season.

It's certainly possible Agholor will need some time to get his feet wet in the NFL, and there's always tremendous value for playing with one of the game's top quarterbacks. Patience and development are critical regardless of situation, and regardless of how other-worldly last year's crop of receivers were right away. 

Two teams with late first-round picks might see Agholor as the ideal replacement for departing receivers. 

In Indianapolis, the Colts are preparing for their first season without Reggie Wayne since drafting the former University of Miami (Fl.) star back in 2001.

Agholor's former position coach vouched for his prized pupil to fill the hole. USC receivers coach Tee Martin told Charles Davis of NFL Network he thinks Agholor reminds him of a young Wayne, per Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. 

"What I like about Agholor is he's a former running back out of high school who has trained himself to be a receiver while at USC," Davis said. "He's worked hard to become a technician."

The Colts pick at No. 29 overall. 

However, Chip Kelly and his unpredictable Philadelphia Eagles lurk as a dark-horse candidate to snag Agholor in the first round, well before the Colts are on the clock. 

According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, the Eagles hosted Agholor on a visit to team headquarters and put him through an official workout. There appears to be real interest between the two. And while Agholor did not play for Kelly at Oregon, familiarity isn't lacking. Kelly recruited Agholor while at Oregon, per Getlin, and he then obviously had a chance to face the receiver after he picked USC. 

Why all the interest?

It's not a stretch to think Kelly likes Agholor as a replacement for Jeremy Maclin.

The Eagles received 85 catches, 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns from Maclin last season. But he hit free agency and landed a lucrative new deal with the Kansas City Chiefs this month, leaving the Eagles somewhat bare at the receiver position. 

Kelly is almost certain to use at least one pick on a receiver in this draft. Philadelphia is scheduled to come on the clock at No. 20 overall in the first round. 

Other teams to watch during the bottom-half of the first round include the Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots. 

Becoming a first-round pick at receiver requires a blend of collegiate production, observable athleticism, projectable upside and team-specific need. Agholor appears to check off the necessary boxes. 

Five receivers fit the bill last spring. Cooper, White and Parker look like first-round locks, but Agholor's chances to join them shouldn't be discounted. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2