Drafting a WR to replace DeSean
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Drafting a WR to replace DeSean
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Now that he's got his coaching staff in place, the top item on Andy Reid's to-do list is deciding what to do about DeSean Jackson.
I wrote about Jackson's place in the wide receiver market last week. I maintain that the Eagles' best option is to work out a long-term agreement with him, unless Jackson is being completely unreasonable with his demands.
But if they decide that's not going to happen, the next logical step is to look at free agents (guys like Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, and Marques Colston could be available).
Another option for the Eagles, if they choose to part ways with Jackson, is to draft a wide receiver.
A recent mock draft by Evan Silva and Josh Norris of Rotoworld.com has the Eagles taking Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright with the 15th pick:
The Eagles figure to look elsewhere if they re-sign free agent DeSean Jackson, but there are no guarantees after D-Jax's petulance caused in-season turmoil and his production sagged. Wright is a more versatile wideout than Jackson, having excelled both from the slot and out wide. With a 42-inch vertical and 4.3 speed, Wright is also the premier deep threat in this year's receiver class.
NFL.com's Mike Mayock has Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, Baylor's Wright, South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery and Wake Forest's Chris Givens as his top-five wide receiver prospects.
But would any of those players be able to contribute immediately in the Eagles' offense?
Jackson, a second-round pick, had 62 catches for 912 yards as a rookie back in 2008. Jeremy Maclin had 55 catches for 762 yards in 2009.
Here's a chart of how first-round picks at wide receiver have fared in the past five seasons:
| Catches | Yards | TDs | |
| A.J. Green (4th, 2011) | 65 |
1,057 |
7 |
| Julio Jones (6th, 2011) | 54 |
959 |
8 |
| Jonathan Baldwin (26th, 2011) | 21 |
254 |
1 |
| Demaryius Thomas (22nd, 2010) | 22 |
283 |
2 |
| Dez Bryant (24th, 2010) | 45 |
561 |
6 |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey (7th, 2009) | 9 |
124 |
1 |
| Michael Crabtree (10th, 2009) | 48 |
625 |
2 |
| Jeremy Maclin (19th, 2009) | 55 |
762 |
4 |
| Percy Harvin (22nd, 2009) | 60 |
790 |
6 |
| Hakeem Nicks (29th, 2009) | 47 |
790 |
6 |
| Kenny Britt (30th, 2009) | 42 | 701 |
3 |
| Calvin Johnson (2nd, 2007) | 48 | 756 | 4 |
| Ted Ginn (9th, 2007) | 34 | 420 | 2 |
| Dwayne Bowe (23rd, 2007) | 70 | 995 | 5 |
| Robert Meachem (27th, 2007) | 12 | 289 | 3 |
| Craig Davis (30th, 2007) | 20 | 188 | 1 |
| Anthony Gonzalez (32nd, 2007) | 37 | 576 | 3 |
As you can see, there have been varying degrees of success among first-round wide receivers. Injuries, quarterback play and coaching all must be taken into account, but of the 17 wide receivers drafted in the first round since 2007, only one has had a 1,000-yard season as a rookie (Green).
Others - Bowe, Johnson, Britt, Nicks, Harvin, Maclin, Jones - were solid as rookies.
Jackson has averaged 1,061 yards per season since 2009. In other words, it's unlikely that the Eagles find a receiver in the draft to match that kind of production right away.
The 15-day period for using the franchise tag begins less than two weeks from today on Feb. 20. If the Eagles choose not to tag Jackson, and if they can't agree to terms on a long-term contract, he would become an unrestricted free agent on March 13.
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I'm starting to wonder if the Eagles need to take a drastic step to win a SB. They need an elite QB. I'm skeptical that Vick can be that guy. Perhaps they should roll the dice, trade Vick, acquire Peyton Manning when the Colts release him, franchise and trade Desean, and acquire Reggie Wayne who has good chemistry with Manning. If you look at SB history you usually need an elite QB to win it. The Eagles have had talented QBs in McNabb and Vick but those guys aren't good enough to win it all. The Eagles may need to make the monumental move to acquire Manning and trade Vick.— soulman386- there is no way reid will trade vick. banner will not take the hit on the contract they signed him to last year. vick will be the starting qb this year. I would like to see them sign manning to the backup qb position. we have needed a REAL experienced backup qb for a long time. but some other team will pick him up and give him a starting position so that is just fantasy.
- We have been told repeatedly that it takes 2-3 years for a WR to learn Andy Reid's system.. the route trees, the formations, the terminology. Better to keep the guy most familiar with the system and the expectations than bring in a stranger, rookie or veteran, who would HAVE to be a #1 WR here (can't promote, say, Jason Avant from #3 to #1, or even #2 -- wrong skill-set). This is a case where cost and value are not the same thing; in a team game it's wrong to assign a dollar figure to a key cog based on what other teams have paid other players who happen to line up at that same position.
For example: DeSean Jackson's value to the Eagles should be the basis of his paycheck, not Santonio Holmes' value to the Jets. Some teams can plug-and-play different guys into the same position and get the same production, a la the Denver Broncos' running backs under Mike Shanahan -- so the Broncos kept churning low-cost RBs (Olandis Gary, et al). The Eagles have tried a TON of guys in Jackson's spot, and aside from T.O., he's been the best. So his value to this team is high. I advocate paying him in the $7.5m/yr range, and immediately signing both LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin to similar extensions (if possible).
BTW: Justin Blackmon is a BEAST, and I would dearly love to have him here in Philly. He'll be long gone by pick #15. :-( I watched him play at OK State, and he looked like a man among boys on that field, no matter the opponent. I would draft his QB, Brandon Weeden, in Round 3 if he's available.— critias - I like the way soulman386 thinks.. If I could get a #2 pick for Vick, and sign Manning to a 5-year contract, I would do it in a heartbeat -- but I would NOT sign Reggie Wayne. In this scenario, I would draft Burfict in the 1st round, then a safety, a WR, and Weeden in the 2nd round (we'll need a backup for Manning, and Weeden at age 28 is mature enough and skilled enough to learn quickly from Manning and be ready to come in during his rookie year; he also ran a pro-style offense at OK State, with the second-best passing offense in the nation -- and the 3rd-ranked team overall).
I love Reggie Wayne, but his presence on the roster and on the field would take time and snaps away from Jackson, Maclin, Avant or a kid they draft -- all of which would be extremely valuable with a new QB learning a new offense.— critias - My concern with a long term deal for DeSean is that with the level of maturity he showed this past season, with a long term deal in his pocket I see his production going the way of Chris Johnson after he got his. If DeSean is gone, i'd love to have this Wright kid...but only if he's still around in the second, no way i'm using #15 on him.— THE-KID (WI)
- soulman - Please enlighten us with more of your football brilliance (Reggie Wayne - I presume you meant as a replacement for DeSean Jackson, since you didn't say anything about trying to get Blackmon, or any of the other stud receivers, as identified by Mayock, who most consider a very good authority on college football talent). That would be great, thanks.— 5NOT4
- honestly i think the best route the team should go is tag desean and trade him and astane and our first round pick to the rams or minnesota (and if we have to throw a 4th rounder in there to make it worth it to the team then we can)to move up and take justin blackmond in the draft! he is the next calvin i think, hes just a beast! that would solve reciever for the next 5 years and save us a lot of money in the process! before that we should throw a nice chunk of money at stephen tulloch so we have mlb locked up for years to come! then we will still have two 2nd rounders to grab so other key players that we need maybe zach brown from unc and if we get very daring we should trade vick to the browns for one of their first rounders and sign peyton manning! this is the ultimate wish list and if this happened our team would be unstoppable but knowing reid and company we are nowhere in this line of thinking but i at least wish they would consider doing this for once!— satcho27
- they should bring back ernie sims. andy had wanted him for years before he finally came here. we haven't made the playoffs since he left. andy has a good eye for talent.— jb99
- you guys thinks Andy is nuts.....well read your own post. you would be fired week 8 right after Payton got knocked out for the season, Jmack gets trippled teamed (because the cowboys picked up Djack) what fool you are.
— coachbarnes10 - andy be queit and get us some talent on this team! — satcho27
- Bowe or Colston. AR HAS gotten production from rookie WRs lately but can't be using a high pick at that position again [who would have said that a few years a go?] with the needs we have on the D.— tpizza
- tpizza, agree that we can't be using top picks on wideouts, when the world knows we need linebackers. I have always liked Colston, and he's from the East Coast, went to Hofstra(why didn't the Eagles notice him). Its rough that the Eagles future depends largely on what Howie thinks. — watsonmr
- Agree with critias, Eagles are plug and play as long as the
skill is close— Willysoup - Defense wins championships. 4 out of 5 first picks should be defensive players, with the lone exception being a QB (2nd/3rd round) for the future to replace Vick.— Phront_Runner
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