Dayton_Cowboy said:
I was very disappointed that Holmes didn't workout at the combine. I think Holmes runs the better routes and is more versatile of the two. I saw all but one of Santonio's games this season and I think maybe one of Jackson's. So my info on Jackson isn't very good. I have been impressed however with everything I've read on Jackson. However if numbers were all that were important, than Mike Mamula would have been a perenial pro bowl player
Yeah exactly, if Holmes proves he can run 4.30 flat, then of course he's back to being the #1 receiver. But until he puts up an official time, Jackson takes that spot. It's not that 40 times should be the only thing (or even a huge part) of analyzing a prospect, but I just don't see a lot of negatives with Jackson.
Consider that Jackson put up very good numbers last year: 88 catches, 900 yards, 9 touchdowns. By comparison, Holmes had 53 catches, 977 yards, 11 touchdowns. Sure Holmes had more YPC, but Jackson had 35 more catches! Now let's go back to the previous season: Jackson had just 29 catches but 648 yards--that's 22.3 a catch! Holmes actually had
more catches (55), but only 769 yards, averaging a very pedestrian 14.0 yards per catch. The point is that the stat is
completely irrelevant, and both players are, for all intents and purposes, statistically equal.
So then you look at the players themselves. Holmes is 5'11 190. Jackson is 6'1 200, and if you just look at the two players, Jackson is much more of a physical specimen. We think Holmes is fast; we
know that Jackson is not only fast, he's faster than Sinorice Moss and every other receiver running at the combine, which is no small feat.
On paper at the present time, Jackson is clearly a better prospect, and I don't think that can be argued. Holmes' biggest advantage is that he's a very polished route runner, but unless some team is planning on starting him right off the bat (which I doubt anyone would), how big of a deal is that? Jackson's shown nothing to indicate that he's a
sloppy route runner, and he has no character issues that would lead people to believe that within 3 years (the standard time it takes for receivers to develop) he won't be polished.
Again, if Holmes runs well, then that would change my assessment; because right now I just don't see Holmes as having the same kind of physical upside that Jackson has, and I don't think either is good enough to make an immediate impact (so being "more polished" really isn't a big deal). I'm not trying to drool over Chad Jackson--he's not even close to, say, Braylon Edwards as a prospect--but I think he's a better prospect than Holmes.
