First of all DeSean Jackson is in the prime of his career at 27 years of age and is a dynamic playmaker. DeSean is a free agent which means he is going to dangle himself over 31 teams in the National Football League. Jackson was scheduled to make 15 million this season with the Eagles which frankly I don't think any receiver is worth that kind of money. Secondly while Jackson could potentially be just what the Patriots need- unfortunately the negatives outweigh the positives. The reports are out there that DeSean Jackson may have ties to gangs. Now- let me say this- I don't know DeSean Jackson personally so these "reports" could be absolutely false. With that said- the report is out there and a team that is going to be investing millions upon millions for this talented player is going to have to seriously investigate these reports to find out if it is true or not.
Keeping it in a Patriot perspective- The Patriots are still eating dead money on the Aaron Hernandez deal and while Aaron Hernandez sits in the Bristol County jail on murder charges- the Patriots have to do their due diligence maybe now even more-so than ever and be leery and maybe even pass over players with these kinds of red flags to avoid any further negative situations that could be potentially dangerous to their ball club's reputation.
The Patriots brought back Julian Edelman who proved last season he can step up when called upon and be a productive player in their system so long as he can stay healthy. Also Danny Amendola returns for his second season with the Pats and while he has certainly had his fair share of injuries- one can only hope that he can brush off the injury prone label and have a solid season that we saw him show in flashes at times last season. Finally- I personally am not overly enamored with the Patriots younger talent at the receiver position but the Patriots drafted Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce for a reason and they saw something in them to draft them where they did. I anticipate the Patriots find out what they have in the younger guys including undrafted RFA Kenbrell Thompkins who showed up at times as well last year before moving on over them. The Patriots also brought in former Panthers wide receiver Brandon LaFell who has some good size at 6'2 but LaFell's strengths are known to be as more of a blocker. What I really would like to see is the Patriots bring in a big- physical target at the receiver position to compliment all of the other guys tat they currently have. I know Edelman, Amendola, LaFell, Dobson, and Boyce are all versatile enough to line up at any receiver spot on the field but I would like to see a pure-physical-big body or field stretching type talent lined up on the perimeter of the field to give Tom Brady a different type of weapon that he has lacked for years.
This year is a very deep draft particularly at the wide receiver position. From Sammy Watkins, to Mike Evans, to Kelvin Benjamin to Martavis Bryant to Brandon Coleman. There is talent to be had in the draft at a fraction of what DeSean Jackson would cost on and potentially off the field. The Patriots haven't had a whole lot of luck drafting receivers but I feel as is the Patriots should look to the draft this May and find the next star receiver of their own. Not only do the Patriots but whatever team that takes a chance on DeSean Jackson has to ask themselves this famous quote from one of my favorite movies- The Girl Next Door- "Is the juicy worth the squeeze?" I have a feeling we will be finding out to the answer to that sooner rather than later.
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