Is DeSean Jackson the next Maurice Jones-Drew?
by Jody Jamieson
7/5/2008
 
It's a time honoured tradition when rookies enter the league. Guys are always compared to those who came before them, fairly or unfairly. Darren McFadden's contributions in his rookie year will no doubt be scrutinized against Adrian Peterson's wonderful rookie year in Minnesota. Chris Long will be judged against his Hall of Fame father Howie Long, who also played defensive end. Jake Long will probably be judged against Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas. It's easy to make comparisons against players who play in the same position. There's one guy who interests me this year, and I see him as being ranked against a player who came out in 2006. However, they don't play the same positions, but will certainly face the same challenges at the Pro level. Let's have a look at the tale of the tape.
 
Both players were heavily recruited when they came out of high school, despite being undersized at their respective positions. Both opted for a college career in the state of California. Both players were standouts in their offensive positions. Both players also found the time to set Pac 10 records in punt returns (one in yards per returns, the other in punts returned to the house) and both had 6 touchdowns on returns in their careers. Both players came out in after their junior years in college. Both guys were tipped as first rounders before they were drafted. However, due to questions about their size, they both stayed on the board till the second round. Both came off the board after many players in their respective positions (one was the 6th in his position, the other the 7th).
 
Is DeSean Jackson the next Maurice Jones-Drew?
 
It's hard to judge whether how Jackson will rank against the other wide receivers in the 2008 Draft class, but it's looking like Jones-Drew is one of the best backs from his class. Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney, DeAngelo Williams, Joseph Addai and LenDale White were all selected before MJD two years ago. From that group only Addai has made a Pro Bowl. There's not a bust in there as of yet (although Reggie Bush is pushing it as far as I'm concerned) and Jones-Drew is one of the best from that class, if not the number 1 guy. He does it all. He runs inside and out, he catches, he returns kicks. Many wondered if he could take the pounding he would likely receive in the NFL, but 2 years in, the 5'6" bowling ball from UCLA is still standing, still producing, and getting better. Everyone remembers his outstanding block on Shawn Merriman against San Diego in the 3rd quarter, when he left "Lights Out" lying on the turf, wondering what the hell had happened. What you may not remember is that a little earlier in the quarter, Jones-Drew took a monstrous shot on a kick return. He went to the sideline, but was back on the field quickly. He takes a lot of punishment, but so far in his NFL career, he hasn't missed a game.
 
He'll probably never be the type of back who will carry the ball 20-25 times a game. But in this day and age that isn't always necessary. We live in the age of running-back-by-committee as more and more teams prefer to carry at least 2 capable backs and split carries and most teams feature backs are carrying less than 300 times in a season. A far cry from 2006 when Larry Johnson carried the ball a career-shortening 416 times. Jones-Drew is at his most effective when he's taking 10-15 carries, and returning kicks.
 
He had a great college career at UCLA, setting school records for most all purpose yards in a career (4,688) and yards rushing in a single game - 322 against Washington - where he scored 5 touchdowns. He came out as a junior on the back of a great year which saw him named a consensus first-team All American and was a first-team All-Pac 10 punt returner. Interestingly ahead of #2 overall pick in the 2006 Draft, Reggie Bush, in both areas. I know I bash Reggie Bush a lot here on the Diner, but there's no question that thus far, the #60 pick has outperformed the #2 pick. Reggie Bush has disappointed thus far (although there's still a long way to go and he could undoubtedly become a really good back) while Maurice Jones-Drew has performed very well indeed, and I still think he should have been Rookie of the Year ahead of Vince Young. Young had a good rookie year, but I felt Jacksonville got so much production out of the little guy, that he should have got then nod.
 
As for Jackson, despite being the 49th pick of the Draft, and with no receivers off the board in Round 1, he was still picked behind receivers Donnie Avery, Devin Thomas, Jordy Nelson, James Hardy, Eddie Royal and Jerome Simpson. Much like the Pocket Rocket, Jackson is the smallest guy at his position in his Draft class, and I was surprised to see him fall as far as he did. I'm very sure that if Jackson was 3 or 4 inches taller, he'd have been selected much much earlier. There is always going to be the concern in the back of any GM's mind that a little guy is going to be pounded out of the league. Steve Smith of Carolina was the exception to the rule at wide receiver. He was the little guy who was tough enough to make it where others failed. There is a slight worry on that side as he missed time throughout his Junior year with niggling injuries.
 
There's no doubt that Philadelphia needs help at the wide receiver position. Kevin Curtis had a good year outside with over 1,100 receiving yards, and Reggie Brown was up and down. Many will suggest that a bigger receiver was better suited to the Eagles offense anyway, without dissing Jackson about his size. Philly were awful in the redzone last year and many put that down to the lack of size in their receiving core. In that sense Jackson may not be the best fit for Philadelphia. Jackson is a playmaker however, and in an offense that relies at times almost entirely on Brian Westbrook, the Eagles may see Jackson as the type of buy who will make the big plays on offense to take the pressure of Westbrook and Donovan McNabb. McNabb has hardly been blessed with the best group of wide receivers, aside from Terrell Owens. The only time in the past the Eagles took a shot early in the Draft was on "Fred Ex" Freddie Mitchell, who isn't exactly remembered too fondly by Eagles fans. Mitchell talked a good game. It was just a pity he didn't often play a good game. If he could play as well as he could talk, he'd be a lock for the Hall of Fame. 4th and 26 against Green Bay and the reception on Donovan McNabb's 14 second scramble in Dallas were 2 incredible highlights in an otherwise unimpressive career.
 
Last season, the Eagles were guilty at times for giving up a lot of "coverage sacks" where the quarterback holds onto the ball for so long due to no-one getting open, giving the defense time to get to the QB. Jackson's blistering speed should give him ample opportunity to get open, be it down the field or underneath. One thing I loved about Jackson in college is he caught all sorts of passes. He's not a one trick pony who runs a go route on every passing play. Philadelphia is one of the better teams in the league at running screen plays for the running backs, and if they can do the same sort of thing for Jackson, he'll be dangerous. He's good enough to get open all over the field, to which point his size might not be the biggest issue. The one slight is that I can't see Jackson making too many catches over the middle, then holding onto the ball while being drilled by a safety.
 
But even if he struggles to play the wide receiver role effectively, he'll likely still be rather useful for his other skills.
 
Eagles fans are still mentally scarred by the laughable Special Teams performance in Week 1 last year against Green Bay. It got so bad, that they resigned Reno Mahe. Jackson is already an instant upgrade in the return game, and now that everyone is trying to find the next Devin Hester, the Eagles probably have the best chance to have the next guy no-one wants to kick to. DeSean Jackson had no right to take some of his punt returns back for touchdowns when you watch them, but his blistering speed, coupled with his ability to make a man miss, may give Donovan McNabb and the Eagles offense a much better starting position than Reno Mahe ever offered.
 
His numbers as a receiver were not outstanding, but he was very productive. In his freshman year he had 601 yards, and broke the 1,000 yard barrier in his sophmore year. He had 65 catches for 762 yards and 6 TD's last year, but defenses did pay him special attention, which made life a lot easier for new Tennessee Titan Lavelle Hawkins, who had a very good year in the Bears offense. Also, the previously mentioned injuries limited Jackson's productivity a little.
 
He'll have to work hard to make sure he can stay injury free in the NFL. It's a big step up from the college game. The defenses are bigger and the hits are harder. He'll also have to make sure that those concerns about his attitude are just concerns and don't ever become a major issue. Jackson has enlisted the help of Jerry Rice in his quest to be ready to play NFL football at a high level come September. There's a little guy in Jacksonville, Florida who will know exactly what Jackson is going through in his quest to be a top Pro. It's a hard task, but as Jones-Drew proved, size doesn't have to be a barrier. It's all about what you can do on the field.
 
Can Jackson be the next little guy to make a big splash?