DenverBroncos
Footballguy
Most people had him rated as a top 3 WR going into this draft. Yes, he is small, but so is Wes Welker. He is ridiciously fast and while people have him pegged as a PR/KR, he fell into a nice situation with a good QB/RB and could easily supplant Brown and/or Curtis as the main threat in that offense. I think he is falling in the rookie draft because of his size but he should end up being one of the best fantasy WR's from this draft. I wouldn't hestitate to take him as a top 5 rookie WR. I know people love Kelly and Thomas but we all know washington receivers are crap and I doubt they will have any fantasy relevance.
)... this isn't that surprising, as it is true that players as dimunitive as jackson are rarely roaring successes at the next level...it is probably worth pointing out that this thread has generated a few questions...to wit... is jackson good value where he is going... & will he ever be a an elite WR...needless to say, those are two (very) different questions...i actually agree that moss & parrish may be good upper & lower bounds in terms of thinking of projections... the only problem is, bracketing jackson in that way with two players with such extreme differences so far in their NFL career isn't that helpful...that is the crux of the problem... if he is more like moss, he could be hugely valuable... if more like parrish, almost worthless...that would be kind of like if i told somebody if they did some work for me, depending on how much i liked it, i might pay them $1,000 or nothing... it would be helpful to have some idea of whether the liklihood was greater of getting one or the other...is moss an elite WR? i don't know, it depends on your definition... in a few of my leagues, he was close to top 5 in '05, & also had a very good year in '03... i'm sure his owners would be thrilled if he has a career that even approximates that of moss...size-wise, i think moss was 5'9" 180 at miami... he is now listed at 200... so in his case, he seems to have added 20 lbs in a half decade or so... conservatively, lets say jackson can add 10 lbs & get to 180... a remaining difference would be that one source (wikipedia?) said moss had a 44" vertical, which if true, would have to be among the best in the NFL (that is david thompson, dominique wilkins-like, among the most explosive leapers in NBA history)... i didn't see jackson's, but i think i read two different ones before... one would have been a disappointing 28", the other was i think closer to 34"... the latter seems more likely, imo...if you look at their college body of work, jackson's reception numbers stack up favorably with moss (who i think left school as the career leader in receptions)...it may be germane to this discussion to make a distinction when making a blanket statement about jackson's size being problematic in projecting greatness (this isn't just addressed at you EBF, this thread is filled with opinions that his NFL projection is fraught with peril due to his physical stature)... are we talking about his weight, height or both??marvin harrison is only 185, but he is 6'0"... so if jackson got to 180, that wouldn't be too far from harrison... & being 3" shorter, that would seem to entail that jackson could have a slightly thicker build, proportionately & relatively... kevin curtis is same size as harrison... he may not be an elite WR, but did well in his first year as a full time starter in '07, & could have further upside...i don't think either of those players have ever been characterized as physical... they seem to rely more on speed, quickness, agility, elusiveness, smarts, etc, to escape the jam... while they may not be the best exemplars in terms of HEIGHT, they are examples of players lacking great SIZE & power suceeding at a high level (the highest in harrison's case)... a better example or size comp is probably welker... i think he is 5'9" or 5'10" 185... welker is another player that imo isn't known for being extremely physical, but is obviously a superb route runner...welker is a good segue to examining height instead of weight... derek mason (5'10") has had some success (i forgot he had 103 receptions in '07... few WRs have had as many receptions in the past half decade or more)... above we showed how players that weren't that big did well (albeit taller than jackson), here we are trying to see if players about the same height as jackson (though weighing more) have enoyed much success... clearly in case of welker & mason they have shown it is doable... mason is a muscular 190, so perhaps not the greatest comp for jackson... a few things should also be mentioned in the context of jackson's projection...not sure how often this was done with welker, but i think at least SOME of the time, it facilitated his ability to get a clean release & into his route quickly by moving him around & putting him in motion right before the snap... it may not have escaped the attention of PHI (& other teams) & reid how well welker did, & how this was accomplished, given that the NFL is a copycat league...also, a trend in recent years to rules changes that have increasingly limited the contact with which DBs can engage WRs has seemed to noticeably help the prospects of quick, athletic WRs that aren't necessarily hulking...i don't know if jackson will ever be a #1 WR like moss, but i agree with others that see him as a potentially solid WR2 being realistic (if slightly hopeful)...clearly jackson is a better dynasty than redraft prospect... moss himself didn't do too much until breaking out in his third year ('03), so patience would seem to be in order... anybody expecting a substantial impact in year one will imo be disappointed, but that isn't too likely to be a commonly held expectation...* in case it doesn't sound like it, i'll characterize my take as catious optimism... i have size & power-based concerns about jackson, like everybody else... i don't think they need to be a dealbreaker, necessarily (as far as outperforming his ADP, not necessarily to be an elite WR)...other reasons to like him... in some highlights, he flashed phenomenal body control (great athlete that reportedly could have played pro baseball), & that bodes well, imo...keeping in mind i didn't have access to his LOWLIGHTS, he is very sudden, with freakish burst & instant acceleration (he gets on top of CBs as fast as any WR prospect i have seen in recent years)... he can change up his speeds (an underrated attribute, as important as it is to a baseball pitcher)... he gets very good separation and is capable of cutting at full speed without gathering himself... he tracks and finds the ball in the air and makes excellent adjustments to it (other really fundamental, critically important but underrated traits... if you think about it, if you can't do these, it is kind of hard to be a WR, no matter how many other things you do well, even if you have size, strength, toughness, speed, route running ability, hops, hands, moves)... showed competitiveness when he was covered, & he has exceptional hands... i don't know how much stock to put in his route running work with rice, but it certainly can't hurt... he also has very exciting RAC skills, once he has the ball in the open field (very hard to bring down with a solo tackler)...** if he fulfills & realizes his potential, his speed & explosiveness (though not size & strength) are most reminiscent to me of joey galloway, when he first came into the league... IF he can escape the jam (& if the eagles can get creative in finding ways for him to get clean releases), he could have the raw speed to rip the lid off of coverages like a cheap beer can... 
BTW, this is one reason i am high on curtis (& mcnabb) this year... i think jackson's presence will be felt more initially as a THREAT... but in a few years, he could have the goods to be dangerous, a difference maker, & a legit starting WR in the NFL...*** it may seem inconsistent to above say it could be slightly hopeful to see him as a solid WR2, than to say he is reminiscent of galloway... IF i knew he was going to gain 10-15 lbs in the next few years, & reaches a point where he has no problem escaping the jam, i would feel more confident in actually revising my projection UPWARD, to a potential WR1... obviously if he proves unable to escape the jam at the next level, he will be a severe disappointment to those projecting him based on his upside...it is uncertainty about some of these issues that has led me to purposesly use a lot of qualifiers & IFs throughout this post (mirroring the general rift & polarization in this threads projections)...
