I’m not sure what to make of DeSean Jackson. On the one hand, he’s 32 – getting into the late stages of his career. But at the same time, Jackson doesn’t seem to have lost much burst.
Jackson caught 4 TDs last year, and they came from 36, 58, 75 and 60 yards. For the year, he averaged 18.9 yards per catch. Of the 63 wide receivers with at least 40 catches, that was the most of everyone. Only two others averaged more than 17.0 yards per reception – Mike Evans and Josh Gordon.
Now Jackson has been transplanted back into Philadelphia. He’s been with Washington and Tampa Bay, but now he’s returning to the franchise where he started his career.
The Eagles have plenty of other wide receivers, and they’ve shown some ability to get deep. Alshon Jeffery isn’t as fast as Jackson, but he’s a larger target (6-3, 218). Nelson Agholor isn’t a true burner, but he’s hit on some deep balls. And they drafted J.J. Arcega-Whiteside late in the second round.
I’m not excited about Jackson. I doubt that I’ll draft him in any leagues. (In PPR leagues, I tend to prefer receivers who’ll catch more passes.) But I’ll suppose he’ll rotate in and maybe do his usual thing, catching 40-50 passes and maybe hitting on some long strikes.
| RECEIVERS; YARDS PER CATCH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 41 | 774 | 18.9 | 4 |
| Josh Gordon, Cle.-N.E. | 41 | 737 | 18.0 | 4 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 86 | 1,524 | 17.7 | 8 |
| John Brown, Balt. | 42 | 715 | 17.0 | 5 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 87 | 1,479 | 17.0 | 12 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 57 | 965 | 16.9 | 10 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 42 | 704 | 16.8 | 4 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 76 | 1,270 | 16.7 | 6 |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 41 | 653 | 15.9 | 5 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 43 | 664 | 15.4 | 10 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 70 | 1,063 | 15.2 | 5 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 46 | 694 | 15.1 | 6 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 80 | 1,204 | 15.1 | 5 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 50 | 752 | 15.0 | 6 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 113 | 1,677 | 14.8 | 8 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 55 | 788 | 14.3 | 2 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 59 | 842 | 14.3 | 7 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 86 | 1,219 | 14.2 | 6 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 40 | 566 | 14.2 | 6 |
| Donte Moncrief, Jac. | 48 | 668 | 13.9 | 3 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 43 | 590 | 13.7 | 3 |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 65 | 891 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 55 | 754 | 13.7 | 4 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 115 | 1,572 | 13.7 | 11 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 77 | 1,052 | 13.7 | 6 |
| Antonio Callaway, Cle. | 43 | 586 | 13.6 | 5 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 76 | 1,028 | 13.5 | 7 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dal. | 75 | 1,005 | 13.4 | 7 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 66 | 872 | 13.2 | 4 |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 40 | 519 | 13.0 | 3 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 65 | 843 | 13.0 | 6 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 111 | 1,426 | 12.9 | 7 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 64 | 821 | 12.8 | 10 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 4 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 111 | 1,386 | 12.5 | 13 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 44 | 549 | 12.5 | 4 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 104 | 1,297 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 50 | 618 | 12.4 | 5 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 97 | 1,196 | 12.3 | 6 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 71 | 868 | 12.2 | 4 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 113 | 1,373 | 12.2 | 9 |
| Josh Doctson, Was. | 44 | 532 | 12.1 | 2 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 81 | 976 | 12.1 | 4 |
| Jordy Nelson, Oak. | 63 | 739 | 11.7 | 3 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 56 | 652 | 11.6 | 7 |
| Kendrick Bourne, S.F. | 42 | 487 | 11.6 | 4 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 64 | 736 | 11.5 | 4 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 74 | 850 | 11.5 | 6 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 59 | 677 | 11.5 | 5 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 125 | 1,405 | 11.2 | 9 |
| Michael Crabtree, Balt. | 54 | 607 | 11.2 | 3 |
| Seth Roberts, Oak. | 45 | 494 | 11.0 | 2 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 717 | 10.9 | 5 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 5 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 74 | 795 | 10.7 | 4 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 6 |
| Willie Snead, Balt. | 62 | 651 | 10.5 | 1 |
| Jarius Wright, Car. | 43 | 447 | 10.4 | 1 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 65 | 672 | 10.3 | 3 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Chi. | 67 | 688 | 10.3 | 2 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 102 | 1,021 | 10.0 | 9 |
| Danny Amendola, Mia. | 59 | 575 | 9.8 | 1 |
| Chester Rogers, Ind. | 53 | 485 | 9.2 | 2 |
—Ian Allan