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Top Ten Best Eagles Draft Picks (of the Reid Era) - #4 DeSean Jackson

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  • Top Ten Best Eagles Draft Picks (of the Reid Era) - #4 DeSean Jackson

    http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2...desean-jackson

    Top Ten Best Eagles Draft Picks (of the Reid Era) - #4 DeSean Jackson

    As promised in our previous post in the top ten best picks of the Reid era, we've got our second straight second round pick.

    DeSean Jackson - 2008 - 2nd round

    I could list you a bunch of DeSean's stats that would make you jaw drop, but none moreso than this. DeSean Jackson was the seventh wide receiver taken in the 2008 draft. Here's a list of the guys taken before him.

    Donnie Avery, Devin Thomas, Jordy Nelson, James Hardy, Eddie Royal & Jerome Simpson.

    DeSean Jackson is the only pro bowler of the bunch. Two have already been cut. Only one has ever even caught more than 60 passes in a year and that was Eddie Royals now flukey looking rookie season. And why were six guys taken before him? For one, he's small and a lot of teams are afraid of that. The other reason were the supposed "character concerns" around him. Not that he was ever in trouble, just that he was cocky.


    I read the book, "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis about how the Oakland A's exploited inefficiencies in the market to create an advantage for themselves. Among other things, they found that the ability to get on base was undervalued and things like speed and stolen bases were overvalued. It got me thinking about whether there was an equivalent in the NFL. What might be the inefficiency that can be exploited?

    One possibility really might be these "character concerns." You can't tell me that teams thought that guys like Jerome Simpson or James Hardy were better football players than DeSean Jackson. They weren't, not by any measure. To me, if seven teams look at the same set of players and pass on the best one because of character concerns, then that's a serious inefficiency in the market.

  • #2
    Not sure I agree about that last paragraph. Although I think he may not have written what he actually meant, perhaps. I think where you exploit that is when "character issues" are not really "character issues" that are going to affect your team. There are plenty of guys with more talent but character issues have clearly derailed their careers. (e.g. that guy in Miami, for example!!!)

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    • #3
      It depends on what the character issues are and what the person is and wants to be. Do they want to be a pro, do they want to leave the crap behind them and succeed in a new life. The NFL and NFL teams have extensive background guys, some are real good at what they do and some are like any other business-just there to get a buck. It is no different than talent evaluators--some are good at determining what a player will develop into and some aren''t. They see a guy and don't realize he is at the top of his game and miss out on the guy who is just ready to blossom.
      Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
      Hope is not a strategy
      RIP

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      • #4
        http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2011/...-top-100-poll/

        Eagles’ DeSean Jackson – #29 In NFL Top 100 Poll

        The NFL Network has announced the names of the next 10 players (30 to 21) on their top 100 of 2011 poll, as voted for by NFL players.

        Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson comes in at 29.

        Jackson’s teammate Todd Herremans spoke about him on the NFL Network when Jackson was revealed as number 29.

        “DeSean’s like one of the biggest competitors I’ve met,” Herremans said. “He wants to win and he wants to be the guy that makes it so that we win.”

        Jackson’s speed is his greatest asset. In the 2008 combine he ran the fastest 40 yard dash at 4.35. His size, when it came to the draft, was his weakness. At 5’9″, 170 lbs., teams were leery of drafting him, and as a result he wasn’t drafted until the second round. But his determination has made him a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.

        “He’s that playmaker that always wants the ball in his hands as the game’s running out,” said Herremans.

        And Jackson never did it in more dramatic fashion than on December 19th in one of the all time greatest comebacks in Eagles history. The Eagles were playing the Giants in the Meadowlands, and they were down three touchdowns with seven minutes left on the clock. The Eagles tied up the game, and with 14 seconds left in regulation, Jackson returned a line drive punt for a touchdown.

        Since Jackson started playing in the NFL he leads the league in yards per catch as well as punt return yards. And in 2009 he became the first player ever voted into the Pro Bowl for two positions in one season.

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        • #5

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