Faceoff - WR DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles

Posted 8/28, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Will Grant

DeSean Jackson burst onto the scene last season for the Eagles. Although he only reached the end zone a couple times last year, he represented the bit-play threat that the Eagles have been lacking for several years now. This season, he returns as the clear #1 choice and he's ready to progress to a top-flight NFL receiver.

This season, Jackson enters camp as the #1 guy on an offense looking to improve on last year's playoff quality season. The Eagles added a major rookie addition at RB (LeSean McCoy), WR (Jeremy Maclin) and TE (Brent Celek). Standout possession WR Kevin Curtis battled injuries for a significant portion of last season, but should return 100% this year. All of these guys will complement Jackson, and take the focus off of him, allowing his big-play potential to really take over and win games this year.

The QB controversy from last season appears to be over. Donovan McNabb has firmly entrenched himself as the starter for the Eagles this season. Although the Eagles added Michael Vick over the summer, it is more a reflection of Kevin Kolb's readiness as an NFL QB than a knock on McNabb. The key for Jackson is that McNabb knows how to get him the ball. At times last year (especially early in the season), McNabb and Jackson were totally in sync. If they can get back into that zone this year, sparks are going to fly.

To be fair, there is too much talent on the offense now to expect Jackson to reach 100 receptions this season. On the contrary, he'll probably finish in the 65-70 reception range again this year. The key though will be his ability to reach the end zone. With other players to take the focus off of him, you can expect he'll reach the end zone more in 2009. A 1000 yard, 5 TD season is not an unrealistic projection for Jackson. That lands him firmly in the 'starter' quality fantasy WR and makes him a solid pick for your fantasy team this year.

Downside - by Jeff Haseley

If you're looking at targeting Eagles second year wide out DeSean Jackson for your fantasy team this year, you'll likely be looking at him as a late fifth or early sixth round pick in 12-team re-draft leagues. His current ADP is 61 WR22. That probably equates to a WR3 selection for your team.

I think we can agree that Jackson as a WR2 option is a bit of a stretch, but is he a worthy WR3 for your team in 2009? He's not a bad option, but is he the best option? Probably not. He's possibly the number one WR option for the Eagles, who have an above average offense. What's not to like?

Reasons for looking elsewhere for your WR3

Jackson had only three regular season TDs in 2008 (2 rec, 1 rush). He actually should've had four TDs if it weren't for the pre-mature TD celebration where he dropped the ball before entering the end zone, but I digress. The Eagles had 23 TD passes last year. Eleven of them went to players other than WR. Four different WRs had two TDs or more in 2008, but none had more than three. In short - there's several scoring options between Jackson, Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Hank Basket, Jason Avant and rookie WR Jeremy Maclin, etc - and that's not even counting the TEs. Jackson is undersized at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. He is not the typical WR1 for a team. He'll have to earn the WR1 position from veteran Kevin Curtis, who is one year removed from leading the team in receptions with 77 in 2007. There is no guarantee that he will be the team's primary option at WR and even if he is, Philadelphia's best wide receivers haven't exactly been elite in the last decade outside of Terrell Owens. In the McNabb era, since 1999, no Eagles WR other than Terrell Owens has had more than eight receiving TDs in a season. In ten seasons under McNabb's guidance, only five times has a WR had more than six TDs in a season, and that includes Owens.

Leading PHI WR in receptions by year

• 1999 - Torrence Small 49
• 2000 - Charles Johnson 56
• 2001 - James Thrash 63
• 2002 - Todd Pinskton 60
• 2003 - James Thrash 49
• 2004 - Terrell Owens 77
• 2005 - Greg Lewis 48
• 2006 - Reggie Brown 46
• 2007 - Kevin Curtis 77
• 2008 - DeSean Jackson 61

The average reception total per season for Philadelphia's leading WRs in the last ten years is a very uninspiring 58.6

The WR3 position is very important. I'm not sure if I want Jackson occupying that role when there are better options that have demonstrated consistency in seasons prior. Hines Ward, who is a red zone specialist, has at least six TDs in each of the last four years and 70+ receptions in each of the last three. Bernard Berrian was the 18th ranked WR last year with Minnesota - and this year he may have Favre throwing him the ball. Eddie Royal finished nine ranking spots ahead of Jackson last year and yet Jackson has a higher ADP. I would take all three of these players ahead of Jackson and yet it's Jackson that has the higher ADP. Draft wisely. Draft smart.