Eagles To Pursue DeSean Jackson

The Eagles’ wide receiver corps is perhaps their biggest weakness, and there are no indications that any wideout currently on the roster will be a major contributor in the future (outside of Jordan Matthews, that is). As such, Philadelphia will need to address the position in the offseason, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the club is expected to pursue old friend and current division rival DeSean Jackson.

Jackson is set to become an unrestricted free agent, and the diminutive and mercurial wideout could represent the deep threat and speed element that the Eagles presently lack. And although the Redskins will have their own receiver problems to deal with–Pierre Garcon will also be a free agent, and Josh Doctson has missed almost the entire season–their attention will be fixed upon getting a new deal done with Kirk Cousins, and Schefter suggests that the club would rather bring back Garcon anyway.

Of course, Jackson is not the perfect solution for the Eagles, or for any club. As Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com tweets, Jackson just turned 30, has a game built primarily on speed, and his yards-per-catch average this year (15.4) is the third-lowest of his career. That number has dropped 5.4 yards since 2014, his first season in Washington, which suggests that Jackson’s skills are declining (which is true of many skill position players when they turn 30). And that does not take into account Jackson’s erratic personality and injury history, both of which could deter the Eagles from handing him the type of deal he is likely to score from a similarly needy team on the open market.

This season, D-Jax has posted 38 catches (on 70 targets) for 585 yards and three scores.