Reports have surfaced throughout the web that have confirmed what’s been speculated upon for several weeks—the Philadelphia Eagles are indeed shopping DeSean Jackson, for as low as a third-round draft pick.
Jackson has been an interesting and polarizing member of the Eagles for the past six seasons, and is coming off his best statistical season yet after catching 82 passes for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns in Chip Kelly’s high-potent, fast-paced offense.
However, while Jackson is certainly one of the most explosive weapons in the National Football League, there’s a growing, league-wide sentiment that the distractions and issues that surround him off of the field are far more detrimental than the value he provides on the field.
When he’s away from football, Jackson presides over his own record label, Jaccpot Records, a venture that currently has eight rap artists under contract. While Jackson’s love for rap and the music industry shouldn’t be looked down upon, there are rising sentiments that football might not be his No. 1 priority.
2014 Timeline
Following the Eagles’ loss to the New Orleans Saints in the 2013 NFL Playoffs, Jackson expressed his desires for a pay raise, despite being just three years into a five-year, $47 million deal he signed prior to the 2012 season.
Two days later, on January 11, 2014, Jackson’s home was burglarized for over $325,000 in cash and jewelry, which led to even more questions being brought up surrounding the crowd that he was associating himself with.
A couple of months following the burglary, Jimmy Kempsi of Philly.com reported that Jackson wasn’t a fit with the locker room culture that Chip Kelly was attempting to install in Philadelphia.
On March 19, just hours after these rumors surfaced, the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots were both named as teams that were reportedly interested in Jackson’s services. So which of these two potential Super Bowl contenders would serve as the best fit for Jackson?
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers had just two players see more than 35 targets in 2013, Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin. Now, Michael Crabtree missed the majority of the season due to injury, but Boldin isn’t getting any younger and is more of a short-to-intermediate weapon than a true down-field weapon.
The 49ers invested a fourth round pick in last year’s draft in Quinton Patton, but as of now, the former Louisiana Tech standout shouldn’t be expected to be a focal point of the 49ers offense.
San Francisco has demoralized opponents for the past few seasons with their suffocating defense and a dominant rushing attack, but Jackson is the type of weapon that could push the 49ers over the hump.
New England Patriots
Tom Brady's illustrious career should be coming to an end any year now, and without a boundary weapon at wide receiver, it’s highly unlikely that the New England Patriots can find a way to earn another Super Bowl victory.
Under Bill Belichick, the Patriots have evolved their schemes to fit their personnel, but recently, their offense has operated within the seams, with Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, and most recently, Julian Edelman, seeing the majority of targets. The Patriots signed Danny Amendola to a multi-year contract last offseason and brought back Julian Edelman, but uncertainty surrounding Gronkowski’s health status, an outside wide receiver is a major need.
Like the 49ers with Patton, the Patriots invested a mid-round draft pick on Aaron Dobson and toyed with former Cincinnati standout Kenbrell Thompkins last year, but neither did anything to secure a vote of confidence as a No. 1 option going forward.
Final Words
Both the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers would be excellent fits for a wide receiver of Jackson’s caliber, but the 49ers might be the most appealing option. Jackson would be close to his hometown and have a young, dynamic quarterback in Colin Kaepernick that has the requisite arm strength to get him the ball deep on a consistent basis.