What a weekend it was for the draft!Actually, not really.With the exception of Desean Jackson’s mini-slide (fall to the 2nd round), most of the Cal players were taken about where most draft scouts expected them to. By the time the draft was over, 6 Cal players were taken, and I expect a few more to sign in free agency over the course of the next few weeks or months (Robert Jordan, Andrew Larson etc).
The Cal players drafted were: Desean Jackson, Craig Stevens, Thomas DeCoud, Lavelle Hawkins, Mike Gibson, and Justin Forsett.I’ll be providing my thoughts on each of the selections, but thought I’d get the biggest one out of the way.
2nd Round
18. (49th Overall) Philadelphia Eagles – Desean Jackson, WR
Jackson ended up being the 7th overall wide receiver taken.By the time I realized that the first round was going to be focused on franchise building offensive linemen and defensive players, I wasn’t too surprised to see Jackson fall to the second round.I was however, surprised to see him get drafted behind so many other wide receivers.
It was somewhat of a funky draft for the wide receivers.None were taken in the first round, and a lot of those taken before Jackson were projected as 2nd round guys, but not rated higher than he was.That is to say, many of the “higher” rated wide receiver prospects (Malcom Kelly, Limas Sweed, even James Hardy) were taken after those who expected to go in the second (Eddie Royal, Donnie Avery, Devin Thomas etc...).
Jackson has already openly stated that he will be playing with a chip on his shoulder, motivated by concerns about his size.But he appears to be happy to be with Philly."I felt like I would go higher than I did, but God had a plan for me and I knew it would be a team that would pick me up and put me in a great position," Jackson said. "Everything happens for a reason and I think this is going to be a great fit for me." (Okanes)
With that said, I think Philly will be a great fit for Jackson, since he’ll be playing in a football market, with an established veteran QB and strong offensive system.
And speaking of Jackson’s size, anyone know the line on when Jackson expects to take his first pro game pop?I mean, getting knocked the F out.It’ll happen.I don’t wish harm on the guy at all, but it’s going to happen.Look what happened to Reggie Bush in his first year.
Even in college, plays like this one at USC in ’06 is what you can probably expect on a weekly basis:
But he’ll get back like he always does, and by season’s end, I hope we’ll be seeing more plays where he’s doing this:
Funny enough you should mention that. I was thinking, I don't think Desean would have gone any higher if he came out last year. That is, I don't think Desean would have been able to eliminate any of the knocks against him (size, character) by staying in school another year. He really had nothing else to prove. But that's open to debate of course.
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2 comments:
be cool stay in school
Funny enough you should mention that. I was thinking, I don't think Desean would have gone any higher if he came out last year. That is, I don't think Desean would have been able to eliminate any of the knocks against him (size, character) by staying in school another year. He really had nothing else to prove. But that's open to debate of course.
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