Buried in his recent Yahoo! Sports column about the Vikings’ prospects of trading for V-Jax, Michael Silver writes…
I’m told Smith has been asking for a second-round pick in 2011 and a third-round pick in 2012.
All right, so who knows whether or not the guy who’s telling Silver about the Chargers’ trade demands even knows his ass from his elbow, it’s still an interesting question — just what is Vincent Jackson worth in terms of draft picks?
To me, for a playoff-caliber team with few other holes to fill but one at wide receiver, Jackson is definitely worth it.
Sure, second and third round picks are great, and teams often find starters and sometimes even stars in those rounds, but Jackson is a known quantity. Draft picks aren’t. Jackson caught 68 passes for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Lest anyone think he’s just a one-year wonder, he caught 59 passes for 1,098 yards and seven scores in 2008.
Moreover, he’s a complete player. At 6’5″, he has prototypical size and is an exceptional blocker in the running game — “maybe the best in the league,” according to our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter.
Last season, there were ten wideouts to average more than 15.0 yards per catch and rack up more than 1,000 receiving yards — DeSean Jackson, Greg Jennings, Miles Austin, Santonio Holmes, Sidney Rice, Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Marques Colston, Donald Driver and V-Jax — and the (former?) Charger had the fourth-highest receiving percentage (catches/targets) of the bunch, so he has good hands too.
There is the matter of his two DUIs, but I suspect that his camp would be agreeable to putting some sort of stipulation in his contract that would reduce the guarantee if he got pulled over a third time. That should be enough incentive to convince him to HIRE A FREAKING PERSONAL DRIVER. His rumored asking price (reportedly dismissed by his agent) is $50 million over five years with $30 million guaranteed. Brandon Marshall signed a four-year deal worth $48 million with $12.5 million guaranteed, and he’s batshit crazy.
Jackson is an elite receiver in his prime and he’s arguably the best run-blocking WR in the league. Would you rather have Jackson or a second and a third?
To me, the answer is simple: Give me Jackson.
