Could Darius Jackson = Reggie Bush?

[_sturt_]

Some people were disappointed we didn't pick a WR. But I wonder if we did and we just don't realize it yet.

A lot of talk about this guy's measurables being freakish... how about Jackson in a combo WR/RB/KR role in the Reggie Bush vein (... ie, the one at USC, not nearly so much in the pros)?

He has the speed.

He appears to have hops that threaten Alvin Harper territory. In fact, compared to the other top receivers in this draft, he would have been the only one to show up in the top 3 for both the 40 yard dash and the vertical jump stats.

Good info on Eastern Michigan players is hard to come by, but at least he appears to have some reputation as a good receiver (albeit out of the backfield).

When you're looking for ways to be efficient with your 53 man, it sure does help to have a weapon that you can deploy in more than one role.

Of course, I doubt anyone credibly can offer any informed endorsement of this idea, or for that matter, any informed criticism, but I just have to throw it out there as a reasonable option.

 

[boysfanindc]

Adrian Petersen and Reggie Bush in the same draft we are off to the races.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Yeah, no. I hated everything about Reggie Bush and his style of play. Jackson looks like he could end up being an incredible back. Well, that is if he has the head for it. Otherwise, he is the next Christine Michael.

 

[_sturt_]

The subject header is slightly misleading. I see that now.

Role... emphasis on Reggie Bush-type role... ie, given what Jackson appears to bring to the table.

 

[Supercowboy1986]

Yeah, no. I hated everything about Reggie Bush and his style of play. Jackson looks like he could end up being an incredible back. Well, that is if he has the head for it. Otherwise, he is the next Christine Michael.

He wasn't as good as people projected him to be in the NFL but he was still productive and teams had to account for him. The combo NO had with him and Ingram was pretty good if memory serves me right.

He is/was essientially a better Dunbar IMO.

 

[John813]

He wasn't as good as people projected him to be in the NFL but he was still productive and teams had to account for him. The combo NO had with him and Ingram was pretty good if memory serves me right.

He turned into a decent back once he was traded to Miami.

Was expecting him to be another Miami flop.

 

[Sydla]

Ummmm................ likely no.

 

[_sturt_]

But I don't think Bush was actually ever deployed as a WR to any degree in the pros, and certainly not to the extent he was at USC as I recall. He was a serious dual threat.... well, make that triple threat given his KR role there as well.

I'm suggesting you can better justify a 4th RB if he's also your 6th WR (... or even higher on the depth chart if his training camp and preseason justifies it).

 

[jobberone]

No. Quick but not shifty enough.

 

[Joe Realist]

Darius Jackson will be a starter....for another team in 2 years.

 

[_sturt_]

Maybe this is just me, but I'm not looking to add a shifty WR... I'm looking to add a genuine downfield threat. The hops alone and the memory of what Alvin Harper did for us is enough to make me think "why not give it a look?" But I'm not even sure Harper could boast that speed. All the more, then. He's practice squad material until he carves out a place, and he's arguably got a whole lot more opportunity--this season at least--to carve out that place as a receiver. I get it that no one on staff is reading this, but just among us common Joes I'm speculating and putting it out there, "why not?"

 

[Shinaoi]

Yeah, no. I hated everything about Reggie Bush and his style of play. Jackson looks like he could end up being an incredible back. Well, that is if he has the head for it. Otherwise, he is the next Christine Michael.

He won't be the next Reggie bush, but his ability to run the screen was pretty good.

 

[CATCH17]

I would actually love to see Reggie Bush here in Dallas in th Dunbar role.

Just get rid of him whenever Dunbar is healthy again.. Let him do some of the receiving stuff, PR, KR duties.

I know they'll want to use Whitehead more but I'd like to see Bush here.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

It is very difficult to remake yourself into a WR in the NFL if you have never played the position. I don't know if Jackson has, I know he has played Safety. I think Jackson is the guy we have been trying to find. A guy that can give you 7 to 10 carries and can catch the ball and pick up the blitz on third down in a game and, if developed, can start for you should you need him. A guy who can contribute on special teams and not just be a guy who takes up a roster spot as a back up RB. If he makes the team, I believe that this is what the Cowboys envision. JMO

 

[dogunwo]

Some people were disappointed we didn't pick a WR. But I wonder if we did and we just don't realize it yet.

A lot of talk about this guy's measurables being freakish... how about Jackson in a combo WR/RB/KR role in the Reggie Bush vein (... ie, the one at USC, not nearly so much in the pros)?

He has the speed.

He appears to have hops that threaten Alvin Harper territory. In fact, compared to the other top receivers in this draft, he would have been the only one to show up in the top 3 for both the 40 yard dash and the vertical jump stats.

Good info on Eastern Michigan players is hard to come by, but at least he appears to have some reputation as a good receiver (albeit out of the backfield).

When you're looking for ways to be efficient with your 53 man, it sure does help to have a weapon that you can deploy in more than one role.

Of course, I doubt anyone credibly can offer any informed endorsement of this idea, or for that matter, any informed criticism, but I just have to throw it out there as a reasonable option.

The guy's measurables are fantastic. What I struggle with is why was he a sixth round pick? Is his vision and pass protection that bad? It can't be the competition.

 

[_sturt_]

It is very difficult to remake yourself into a WR in the NFL if you have never played the position. I don't know if Jackson has, I know he has played Safety. I think Jackson is the guy we have been trying to find. A guy that can give you 7 to 10 carries and can catch the ball and pick up the blitz on third down in a game and, if developed, can start for you should you need him. A guy who can contribute on special teams and not just be a guy who takes up a roster spot as a back up RB. If he makes the team, I believe that this is what the Cowboys envision. JMO

I might be under-appreciating the subtleties of the position, but I am more inclined to think there's just a natural bias in the NFL to keep players at the position they played in college because it is conventional wisdom that college coaches placed the player into that position in which he would be most valuable for their purposes--so it seems only reasonable to leave him there and not potentially waste time otherwise. I would wonder what would make WR all that more difficult to learn (...but maybe it is... I could be convinced).

If Jackson even had one year under his belt, I wouldn't even bother to raise the idea.

But just coming into his first training camp, he seems to have plus athletic skills that could be an asset at wide out, and that given our RB depth chart situation (for now at least), and given the seeming likelihood that we're going to carry 3 QBs (for now at least), it gives all that much more incentive (ie, a premium on every 53 man slot) to exploring this possibility.

The guy's measurables are fantastic. What I struggle with is why was he a sixth round pick? Is his vision and pass protection that bad? It can't be the competition.

I think there are MAC programs where he could have played and gotten more regard... Eastern has been at the bottom of that conference for a long long time. Not only that, but Eastern plays in the lesser regarded division in the MAC. Add to that, as I understand it, only became a starter his senior year.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't know if I would call it Bias, per say. I think that it's just the nature of the beast, so to speak. The way the NFL is set up now, you have cap, you have a limited roster, you have only so much developmental time to spend on developing players so it kind of forces you to try and develop players that have the advantage of experience at the positions they are drafted for. RB is a little different, in that it's more of a position where instincts and talent provide returns much more easily. However, WR is different. On average, it takes WRs, even high drafted WRs, 3 years before they learn how to play the position in the NFL. It's not impossible but you don't often see it.

If he were changed to WR, I would guess that he would be a PS guy and I really hope that he actually makes the team and contributes on STs. Remember that if you place him on the PS, anybody can sign him and that if he were to change positions and be kept on the active squad, it would mean that we would be cutting a player who is probably further along in development.

But I understand why you like him at WR. He has a lot of athletic ability.

 

[erod]

Just look at the draft with Reggie Bush in 2006.

1. Mario Williams
2. Reggie Bush
3. Vince Young
4. D'Brickashaw Ferguson
5. A.J. Hawk
6. Vernon Davis
7. Michael Huff
8. Donte Whitner
9. Ernie Sims
10. Matt Leinart

How many of those 10 guys were worthy of the top ten?

 

[_sturt_]

I don't know if I would call it Bias, per say. I think that it's just the nature of the beast, so to speak. The way the NFL is set up now, you have cap, you have a limited roster, you have only so much developmental time to spend on developing players so it kind of forces you to try and develop players that have the advantage of experience at the positions they are drafted for. RB is a little different, in that it's more of a position where instincts and talent provide returns much more easily. However, WR is different. On average, it takes WRs, even high drafted WRs, 3 years before they learn how to play the position in the NFL. It's not impossible but you don't often see it.

If he were changed to WR, I would guess that he would be a PS guy and I really hope that he actually makes the team and contributes on STs. Remember that if you place him on the PS, anybody can sign him and that if he were to change positions and be kept on the active squad, it would mean that we would be cutting a player who is probably further along in development.

But I understand why you like him at WR. He has a lot of athletic ability.

Didn't mean "bias" in any negative connotation... perhaps I should have said "predisposition."

As to the likelihood of RBs to earn quality minutes over WRs, I've read some of the fantasy football reports that maybe you have, and I agree that they mainly conclude that it's smarter to look at rookie RBs as making an impact over rookie WRs... but... I think there's a very logical explanation for that, one which perhaps illustrates why a fantasy football perspective is interesting but doesn't necessarily translate to making on-field choices...

That explanation is simple math.

While many teams are increasingly having RBs that share the load, the point remains that there is one RB on the field at any given time, and further one who gets the majority of per-snap touches.

Not so WRs, obviously. There generally are at least two, sometimes three, and sometimes even four on the field. But with one ball, of course, any one WR is likely to have a decidedly lesser rate of per-snap touches... and thus, where fantasy football is concerned... a decidedly lesser opportunity to have an impact on games.

So there's that, but here's the other major point you bring up that I kinda alluded to, but not at any length...

Just looking at the roster as it stands right now, there are three RBs, and conventional wisdom says the team is unlikely to move Jackson ahead of the guy who ran for over 1000 yards last year, the guy who they just signed who had been a feature back before he got here, and the guy they just drafted.

Compare the likelihood that Jackson ends up on the PS, then, with that circumstance at RB versus...

A WR depth chart that features an all-pro, a guy who starts but definitely has yet to solidify himself as a game-to-game threat, a good slot receiver, and... and.... ummm...

Is there really any overwhelming competition once you get past those first three that screams, "don't come here or you'll be destined for a spot on the PS?"

So, does that help explain why I think... for what it matters what I think... the team does itself a real service is they take some time in the early camps/workouts to see if this guy's speed and hops skills are potentially transferable to wide out?

Mind you, as per the original post, I'm not suggesting even that he become a full-time WR... but someone that you could trot out there for maybe 5-10 snaps per game for now... still an RB, but who can come in with certain packages and represent an occasional deep threat.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Didn't mean "bias" in any negative connotation... perhaps I should have said "predisposition."

As to the likelihood of RBs to earn quality minutes over WRs, I've read some of the fantasy football reports that maybe you have, and I agree that they mainly conclude that it's smarter to look at rookie RBs as making an impact over rookie WRs... but... I think there's a very logical explanation for that, one which perhaps illustrates why a fantasy football perspective is interesting but doesn't necessarily translate to making on-field choices...

That explanation is simple math.

While many teams are increasingly having RBs that share the load, the point remains that there is one RB on the field at any given time, and further one who gets the majority of per-snap touches.

Not so WRs, obviously. There generally are at least two, sometimes three, and sometimes even four on the field. But with one ball, of course, any one WR is likely to have a decidedly lesser rate of per-snap touches... and thus, where fantasy football is concerned... a decidedly lesser opportunity to have an impact on games.

So there's that, but here's the other major point you bring up that I kinda alluded to, but not at any length...

Just looking at the roster as it stands right now, there are three RBs, and conventional wisdom says the team is unlikely to move Jackson ahead of the guy who ran for over 1000 yards last year, the guy who they just signed who had been a feature back before he got here, and the guy they just drafted.

Compare the likelihood that Jackson ends up on the PS, then, with that circumstance at RB versus...

A WR depth chart that features an all-pro, a guy who starts but definitely has yet to solidify himself as a game-to-game threat, a good slot receiver, and... and.... ummm...

Is there really any overwhelming competition once you get past those first three that screams, "don't come here or you'll be destined for a spot on the PS?"

So, does that help explain why I think... for what it matters what I think... the team does itself a real service is they take some time in the early camps/workouts to see if this guy's skills are potentially transferable to wide out?

If the circumstances were different, I might actually agree a bit more but here is why I think the Cowboys will keep in at RB. McFadden's contract. It is done after this season and I don't see it being extended. If you figure this into the equation, it might determine Jackson's roster spot. If he shows that he can contribute to Special Teams and if he shows that he can pick up the offense and give good production in the Offensive snaps he gets, the team could decide to keep him in favor of McFadden or Morris or Dunbar. All big if's but it's the Off Season.

;-)