PHILADELPHIA – Chip Kelly and Nelson Agholor had crossed paths before.

When Agholor was going to high school in Tampa, Florida, Kelly recruited him. After Agholor selected USC, he played against Oregon during his freshman year. The kid Kelly remembered from Tampa turned out to be a pretty good college player.

“He had six catches for 162 yards right in front of my face,” Kelly said Thursday night after selecting the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Agholor in the first round of the draft. “I knew he was a productive player when he walked in as a freshman. And he just kept getting better and better.”

When it was time to evaluate Agholor for this year’s draft, Kelly went to Tampa to work him out. He also invited Agholor to visit the NovaCare Complex and meet with the coaching staff. That meeting lasted longer than Kelly had planned.

“We were in the room with him for a long time because of the questions he had for us,” Kelly said. “How do we attack this coverage? What do we do here? He’s one of those guys who’s just really a student of the game. You get excited when you’re around guys like that. They just soak up everything you spit out. He always wants to get better. Really, exactly what we look for in a football player.”

Agholor has drawn comparisons to former Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was a first-round pick in 2009. Maclin is about the same size as Agholor. Kelly tried to re-sign Maclin in March, but the Kansas City Chiefs offered more money plus the chance to reunite with coach Andy Reid.

Wide receiver Nelson Agholor was the only offensive player drafted by the Eagles. Harry How/Getty Images

That created a bigger need for a wide receiver. But Kelly said the Eagles really tried to stay with their evaluations and simply take the best player who fit their system, regardless of position.

That is why the Eagles didn’t select Byron Jones, the University of Connecticut defensive back the Eagles visited with extensively. It’s why they didn’t take Arizona State safety Damarious Randall, who would have filled the hole left by Nate Allen. Jones was drafted by the Cowboys. Randall was selected by Green Bay. Those are two teams the Eagles need to get past in the NFC.

“There was a bunch of guys we liked,” Kelly said. “Nelson was the highest guy [rated]. He was the top guy there.”

When Kelly called Agholor, the receiver wasn’t completely shocked.

“I had a bit of a sense,” Agholor said. “I told them I wanted to end up in a situation with some truly special people. I felt that’s what they have over there. I thought [the call] was one of the most genuine conversations I’ve had in a long time. It felt like it was meant to be in a way. He left a great impression on me.”

The Eagles took wide receivers in the second and third round of last year’s draft. Jordan Matthews developed into a weapon from the slot, catching 67 passes for 872 yards and eight touchdowns. Third-round pick Josh Huff, hampered by a preseason shoulder injury, caught eight passes for 98 yards in limited playing time.

With Agholor, they now form the core of a new group of wide receivers. Veteran Riley Cooper is the lone wide receiver left from the team Kelly inherited from Reid two years ago. Free agents Miles Austin and Seyi Ajirotutu round out the group.

“I like the guys we have right now,” Kelly said. “I think the guys we’ve added, bringing Miles and 'Tutu' in here, to go along with the guys we had. We felt we wanted to get another guy in that room. That was kind of our plan going into this thing. We’re excited to add Nelson to that group.”