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Graham is the proof that Agholor can be saved | Bob Brookover

Receiver Nelson Agholor is already considered a bust to some after two disappointing seasons. But Brandon Graham was in a similar place in 2012 and has rebounded to become a solid starter.

It was a fitting end to a frustrating season for Nelson Agholor. As the Eagles closed out perhaps the most meaningless victory they've ever recorded against the rival Dallas Cowboys, Agholor watched from the sideline after exiting in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He had zero catches, zero targets, and one rushing attempt for minus-1 yard.

Long before that, the Eagles had to be convinced that the No. 1 priority in the offseason would be upgrading the wide receiver position because Agholor, their 2015 first-round pick, looked lost on the field and confirmed as much with his words off it.

"I just have to get out of my own head," he said after a particularly hideous game in Seattle. "I'm pressing so much and worried about so many things. I have to go out and catch the ball. Because I'm thinking too much and so worried, and it's a selfish thing that needs to stop."

He was benched following that self-evaluation, and nothing he did in the Eagles' final five games made you think he's got this NFL thing figured out now. And so, as Agholor dressed for the first day of an offseason practice Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex, he found veterans Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith nearby. When he got on the field, the majority of his reps came with the second-team offense.

Enter year three of your NFL career without having contributed much in the first two, and you are on the brink of being declared a bust even if the team did spend/waste a first-round pick to get you. Brandon Graham knows the feeling well. When he entered his third season with the Eagles after being selected with the 13th overall pick in 2010, he did not hide from the things that were being said about him.

"Right now, I'm a bust, so I'm going to deal with that," the defensive end famously said five years ago.

He laughed Tuesday when reminded of that label and then offered his opinion about Agholor's similar situation.

"Oh, it's difficult," Graham said. "You know what you can do, and you have to see brighter days ahead. I think the worst has happened to him just like similar to me. The pressure is off because everybody already labeled you that 'B' word. Now it's up to you."

Graham, it can now be said, is not a bust. No, he's not Earl Thomas, the Seattle safety who was selected one pick after him. But his resumé compares quite favorably to that of Jason Pierre-Paul, the defensive end taken two picks after him by the New York Giants. Since 2012, Graham has 26 sacks and 48 tackles for losses, and Pierre-Paul has 29 sacks and 46 tackles for losses. Graham said he felt the pressure was off during his third year.

Agholor swore Tuesday that he is in a better place even though he has sunk on the depth chart and has been labeled a bust in the court of public opinion.

"I have talked [to Graham], and I'll tell you what. It does motivate me," Agholor said. "It motivates me a lot because I love what I do. I love this game, and I want to play this game for a long time. I'm not going to allow anybody beside myself determine how long I do this. Every day I wake up, I have my mind focused on doing this for a long time, and this is only year three, and I want to play 10-plus. The only way I can do that is by making myself a good football player."

He insisted over and over again that the best way to do that is to narrow his focus on a daily basis.

"I'm focused on the simple grind, whether it was conditioning, whether it was lifting weights. . . . I was worried about those simple things," he said. "I didn't focus on anything else. I wasn't trying to have some miracle happen. I just started focusing on the simplest things."

Asked if he tried to clear football and last season from his mind immediately after the season, Agholor said he did not.

"I love football, so I really don't want to get away from it," he said. "For me, I took it for what it was. This is what happened. This is a new opportunity, so every day just focus on getting better in some aspect of it."

Mentally it is obvious that Agholor has arrived in a better place, one similar to where Graham was five years ago. The fact that he still loves football when football did not love him a year ago might be a sign that Agholor can see brighter days ahead even when the rest of the world still thinks he is lost in the darkness.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob