Nelson Agholor won’t let contract year be a distraction, but will a crowded Eagles offense limit the receiver’s opportunities?

It seems long ago, but only two years ago Nelson Agholor was so plagued by self-doubt that he would log the drops he had in practice on a whiteboard inside his locker stall.

But what the numbers revealed over the course of the 2017 offseason was that he was improving. Agholor was developing into the wide receiver the Eagles had envisioned when they drafted him, although not at the position where he started his NFL career. It was no coincidence that his blossoming came after he moved primarily into the slot.

While the switch has done wonders for his career with the Eagles, it could affect his long-term prospects as he enters the last year of his rookie contract, especially with a crowded field of talented skill-position players.

The Eagles have yet to give Agholor a contract extension, but they did pick up his fifth-year, $9.4 million option last year, and they did decide to keep him this year despite the perception that he was expendable. His role should be considerable.

But will he get as many snaps as last season with the acquisition of receiver DeSean Jackson, the expected emergence of tight end Dallas Goedert, and the second-round investment in rookie receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside? And how will that affect his value?

“The money in this league comes to those who earn it. You feeling me? Like, what’s for me will be for me,” Agholor said. “I’ve got a year this year to play a great year of football and to progress as a player and to show that I’m a valuable piece in the NFL.

“And whoever feels like I’m that guy will give me an opportunity, and I’m hoping it’s here on the Philadelphia Eagles team.”

Few would fault Agholor if he allowed the thought of his future beyond this season to seep into his mind every now and then. He was asked about his contract late last week. It wasn’t as if he brought it up.

He once had rabbit ears, though. It got so bad that he suspended his Twitter account. But he returned and will occasionally respond to critics, such as when some suggested he should be traded this offseason, or when someone unwittingly questioned his working out with Hall of Famer Randy Moss this summer.

But the Agholor of his first two seasons, the one whom Doug Pederson gave a game off to get his head right, seemingly no longer exists. In fact, the adversity he faced could help him in his contract season. While some players succumb under that kind of pressure, others thrive.

“I think the most important thing for me, you’ve got to understand about Nelson, it’s the final year of a contract, not the final year of my career,” Agholor said. “That’s my mind-set. I’m not concerned with it being Year 5, or fifth-year option. It’s like I’ve got a lot of football to play.”

There’s argument to be made, that of the Eagles’ top three receivers, Agholor is the one who has the most room for growth. Alshon Jeffery and Jackson are still top-25 receivers, but it has been more than five years since both set career highs in catches and yards.

Agholor turned 26 in May. He’s still, in some respects, raw. But he wasn’t as productive last season as he was in 2017. And there is only one ball to go around.

“I want to get the ball, like I think I can do more every year, every opportunity, but at the end of the day, you can only do with what comes your way,” Agholor said. “My confidence will always be high because of how I work, and I’m also confident because I train alongside two of the best receivers in this league.

“Alshon’s been teaching me how to play big. DeSean’s been teaching me how to use my speed.”

Agholor played 90 percent of the offensive snaps last season, an 18 percent increase over 2017. Receiver Mike Wallace’s early-season injury factored into his additional playing time, but Agholor’s targets and catches (97-64) remained relatively the same as they did the year before (95-62).

His yards per catch (12.4 to 11.5) dropped, however, as did his number of touchdowns (8 to 4). Some of that decrease could be attributed to an early-season fixation with getting Agholor the ball near the line of scrimmage. He averaged only 6.7 yards a catch in his first four games.

“The more little dinks and dunks means more catches,” Agholor said. “And my job is to break a few tackles and score on those.”

Agholor averaged 5.38 yards after the catch in 2018 -- up from his 2017 average of 4.85 yards -- which was 18th in the NFL among receivers.

His production was also affected by the midseason addition of Golden Tate, a slot receiver with many similar traits, something Pederson acknowledged in March. Agholor was targeted 61 times before the trade, only 36 times after as he lined up more on the outside.

Was the lack of production evidence that he isn’t as consistent outside the numbers, or were the Eagles’ overall struggles more the issue?

The offense will, obviously, look different this year. The Eagles utilized their “12” personnel package (two tight ends) as much as any team last season, partly because of Wallace’s injury. But Goedert’s development could compel Pederson to use it more, which would often leave Agholor on the sideline.

“Who do you want on the field, who do you want off the field?” Pederson said Monday. “There’s a fine line there. Both guys are talented and very explosive in our offense, and it’s all about the matchups in this league.”

Agholor’s speed makes him a tough matchup for slot cornerbacks, and not as much for outside corners. But wherever he lines up, and whatever numbers he compiles this season, few could have predicted two years ago that he’d come this far.

“I just respect that young player,” Agholor said, explaining his quest for improvement then. “Now that I’ve found a way to have a little bit of consistency, I still push for that same mind-set.”