Eagles' Jordan Matthews says teammate Nelson Agholor will catch on

NELSON AGHOLOR has gotten some heat for minimal production through the first three games. He has just four catches, no touchdowns and he's getting dropped like a Sam Bradford pass by panicky fantasy owners.

Lots of variables, of course, go into completing passes in football. The offensive line has to protect, the quarterback has to be accurate, the receiver has to present a target and actually catch the ball. Football 101.

But in fantasyland, where we watched Agholor look like a mini-Julio Jones at times in the preseason, numbers talk and everything else walks. Thank you, Ozzie Myers.

"You can look at the numbers from the three games and make crazy assumptions," teammate Jordan Matthews said. "It's so early. Once we get going on offense as a whole, that's going to help him get going more."

Matthews had 67 catches last year to set the Eagles record for most by a rookie wide receiver. His breakout game came in Week 3 when he had eight receptions and two touchdowns in a win over the Redskins.

Agholor, in his Week 3, had zero catches and was dropped in 15 percent of the leagues run by CBS Sports and 17 percent of those run by ESPN as of yesterday afternoon.

"He's blocking in the run game, and he's getting open. I know once those balls start coming to him, he's going to start making plays," Matthews said. "I'm not worried about him. I think by the end of the season, Nelson can do way better than me. I'm very confident in him."

Piggybacking on what Matthews just said, here is how the nine wide receivers drafted in the first two rounds are faring through three games:

Pick Rec. Yds. TD

Amari Cooper, Oak.. . . 4 20 290 1

*Kevin White, Chi.. . . 7 - - -

DeVante Parker, Mia.. . . 14 4 49 0

Nelson Agholor, Eagles. . . 20 4 36 0

*Breshad Perriman, Bal.. . . 26 - - -

Phillip Dorsett, Ind.. . . 29 5 113 1

Devin Smith, NYJ. . . 37 3 39 0

D. Green-Beckham, Ten.. . . 40 3 35 2

Devin Funchess, Car.. . . 41 3 38 0

*Injured, has not played.

Longtime reader Don Habermehl, of West Chester, won a Daily News Fantasy Football T-shirt for coming closest to Sam Bradford's passing yards last week against the Jets. Habermehl pegged that Bradford would throw for 123, just 5 yards away from Strugglin' Sam's total of 118.

Habermehl has been playing in our contests for years, including winning tickets in Home Run Payoff in 1996. He is a rabid Mets fan, so hopefully this is his only victory in October.

Kidding, of course. The only cheering we do around here is for our own fantasy teams.

San Diego tight end Antonio Gates, Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy and Pittsburgh wide receiver Martavis Bryant are the most notable players due to come off four-game suspensions and be eligible starting next week.

Obviously, keep an eye on Joaquin and what it means for fantasy lineups. If the Eagles-Redskins gets postponed until Week 8, the extra week off would only help DeMarco Murray and DeSean Jackson.

Also, keep in mind that 9:30 a.m. kickoff on Sunday for the Jets-Dolphins game, which is taking place in London.

Quarterback: The Jaguars gave up 359 yards and two touchdowns to Ryan Tannehill and 358 yards and two scores to Tom Brady in consecutive games. If Andrew Luck does not finally have that monster game, fantasy nervousness would be warranted. Luck was limited in practice yesterday, but does not appear in any danger of being restricted Sunday at home against the Jags . . . Sneaky play alert for those with Tom Brady on bye is the Jets' Ryan Fitzpatrick, especially if Eric Decker can get back in the lineup.

Running back: Buffalo's Karlos Williams is an RB1 if he gets the expected start in place of LeSean McCoy (hamstring). The Giants, Buffalo's opponent, have allowed 26 receptions to opposing RBs. Williams, a rookie, has just two in his first three career games . . . Carlos Hyde had 168 rushing yards and two TDs in Week 1 and 94 total rushing yards in Weeks 2 and 3 with zero touchdowns. He's a mid-RB2 on a San Fran offense that is going backwards. Really thought QB Colin Kaepernick would have been better after the coaching change.

Wide receiver: This will be Calvin Johnson's third career game against Seattle. He had two catches for 27 yards in 2009 and was 3-for-46 in 2012. He did not score in either game . . . Leonard Hankerson has supplanted Roddy White as Atlanta's No. 2 receiver, but he's barely a WR4 in 10-team leagues. Hankerson has 21 targets in three games (11 receptions, one touchdown). White has been targeted just nine times and has been held without a catch in consecutive games for the first time since his rookie season in 2005.

Ed Barkowitz, who wouldn't go to a Jets-Dolphins game unless it was being played at Murphy Rec. in South Philly, has been writing about fantasy football in the Daily News since 2001.

On Twitter: @EdBarkowitz