Donnie Avery or DeSean Jackson? Bad luck or bad draft?
BY REID LAYMANCE | Posted: Monday, December 20, 2010 11:06 am
THE WATER COOLER:
In the 2008 draft, the Rams went for Houston wide receiver Donnie Avery at the top of the second round instead of Cal's DeSean Jackson, who went 16 spots later to the Eagles. On Sunday, Jackson returned a punt 65 yards on the last play of the game to give the Eagles a win over the Giants. Avery is on injured reserve for the Rams. Bad luck or bad drafting?
BRYAN BURWELL:
I wish I could blame it all on bad luck, but this was an organizational decision to bypass Jackson because the decision makers within the Rams front office firmly believed that Jackson's off-field baggage and attitude were a detriment and he wouldn't fit in with the new concept of the direction the organization was heading.
But even before Avery's injury, his early production did not measure up to Jackson's explosive contributions to the Eagles. Maybe we will revisit this again next year and see that Avery is the big-play threat general manager Billy Devaney thinks he is. Maybe with Bradford in his second season and with a healthy Mark Clayton and a fully recovered Danario Alexander up to speed on the playbook, things will start clicking for this offense and everyone will believe that Avery is Jackson's equal. But that's a lot of catching up to do. A lot.
JEFF GORDON:
Bad drafting. The Rams had concerns about DeSean Jackson's make-up, but he was a spectacular collegiate player. Avery offered speed, but coming from a spread offense put him at a disavantage. Avery has had tough luck with injuries, but it's difficult to imagine him matching Jackson's impact if healthy. DeSean has given the Eagles staff some headaches in his time, but there is no denying his game-breaking skill.
KATHLEEN NELSON:
More of the latter than the former. I went back through the notes from NFLdraftscout.com, which had Jackson ranked second among wide receivers, Avery as No. 11, so the Rams valued Avery above nine other wideouts as well. It also indicated that Avery was more likely a third-rounder than a second rounder.
One of the knocks on Jackson was that scouts likenend him to "Devin Hester, but he is not in that class yet as a returner." I think he's worked on that shortcoming a little bit.
Here's the bottom line: Avery has played 31 games and has 100 receptions for 1,263 yards with 2 kick returns for 40 yards.
Jackson: 44 games, 169 receptions, 3,092 yards, 99 punt returns for 1,112 yards and four TDs.
It's not even close, even when you subtract Avery's lost season. Jackson played in 31 games, with 124 receptions, 2,068 yards, 79 punt returns for 881 yards and three TDs.
BY REID LAYMANCE | Posted: Monday, December 20, 2010 11:06 am
THE WATER COOLER:
In the 2008 draft, the Rams went for Houston wide receiver Donnie Avery at the top of the second round instead of Cal's DeSean Jackson, who went 16 spots later to the Eagles. On Sunday, Jackson returned a punt 65 yards on the last play of the game to give the Eagles a win over the Giants. Avery is on injured reserve for the Rams. Bad luck or bad drafting?
BRYAN BURWELL:
I wish I could blame it all on bad luck, but this was an organizational decision to bypass Jackson because the decision makers within the Rams front office firmly believed that Jackson's off-field baggage and attitude were a detriment and he wouldn't fit in with the new concept of the direction the organization was heading.
But even before Avery's injury, his early production did not measure up to Jackson's explosive contributions to the Eagles. Maybe we will revisit this again next year and see that Avery is the big-play threat general manager Billy Devaney thinks he is. Maybe with Bradford in his second season and with a healthy Mark Clayton and a fully recovered Danario Alexander up to speed on the playbook, things will start clicking for this offense and everyone will believe that Avery is Jackson's equal. But that's a lot of catching up to do. A lot.
JEFF GORDON:
Bad drafting. The Rams had concerns about DeSean Jackson's make-up, but he was a spectacular collegiate player. Avery offered speed, but coming from a spread offense put him at a disavantage. Avery has had tough luck with injuries, but it's difficult to imagine him matching Jackson's impact if healthy. DeSean has given the Eagles staff some headaches in his time, but there is no denying his game-breaking skill.
KATHLEEN NELSON:
More of the latter than the former. I went back through the notes from NFLdraftscout.com, which had Jackson ranked second among wide receivers, Avery as No. 11, so the Rams valued Avery above nine other wideouts as well. It also indicated that Avery was more likely a third-rounder than a second rounder.
One of the knocks on Jackson was that scouts likenend him to "Devin Hester, but he is not in that class yet as a returner." I think he's worked on that shortcoming a little bit.
Here's the bottom line: Avery has played 31 games and has 100 receptions for 1,263 yards with 2 kick returns for 40 yards.
Jackson: 44 games, 169 receptions, 3,092 yards, 99 punt returns for 1,112 yards and four TDs.
It's not even close, even when you subtract Avery's lost season. Jackson played in 31 games, with 124 receptions, 2,068 yards, 79 punt returns for 881 yards and three TDs.
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