Andy Reid is one of the better modern minds in regards to identifying and getting the most out of offensive talent, but even the future Hall of Fame head coach probably couldn't have imagined the impact that the Philadelphia Eagles, among other teams, would get when they selected DeSean Jackson in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Now in his 14th season, Jackson hauled in his 59th career touchdown pass (including playoffs) Sunday, as he and the Los Angeles Rams defeated the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to move to 3-0 in 2021.
Truly, though, the list of quarterbacks that Jackson has caught touchdown passes is incredible.
In Jackson's rookie season of 2008, Donovan McNabb was still the quarterback in Philadelphia. Jackson caught two touchdown passes during the regular season, and for good measure, added a go-ahead house call in the NFC Championship Game:
In his second NFL season, Jackson exploded for 10 touchdown receptions (including one in the postseason), eight of which were thrown by McNabb. However, two of those were tossed to him by another former second-round pick, Kevin Kolb.
Following a disappointing postseason exit, the Eagles traded McNabb to the division-rival Washington Football Team ahead of the 2010 season. The initial plan was for Kolb to take over, but after he was concussed in the first-half of the season-opener against the Green Bay Packers, Michael Vick quickly re-established himself as a starter in the league. Though Jackson would catch one touchdown pass from Kolb in a midseason victory over the Atlanta Falcons, five of his six touchdown receptions that season were thrown by Vick:
The final two seasons of the Reid era in Philadelphia were pretty ugly, as injury-riddled teams went a combined 12-20. Jackson, looking for a new contract, caught just six touchdown passes in 20 combined games between 2011 and 2012. All of the touchdowns Jackson caught in the waning years of the Reid era in Philadelphia were from Vick.
However, things changed pretty dramatically in 2013, Chip Kelly's first year in Philadelphia. Though the two would ultimately end on very bad terms, Jackson put up his best statistical production in his lone year in Kelly's offense, hauling in 82 passes for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns.
Though Vick looked explosive in a season-opening win on Monday Night Football, he would only toss two touchdown passes to Jackson in 2013. A hamstring injury opened the door for Nick Foles, who would toss 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions in Kelly's offense. Jackson caught seven of those passes from Foles, including one in a record-setting performance from Foles in Oakland:
Despite tremendous on-field success in his first season under Kelly, the Eagles released Jackson after the 2013 season. Ahead of his age-28 season, Jackson caught on with what's now known as The Washington Football Team, signing a three-year/$24 million deal that guaranteed him $16 million.
In two games against his former team in 2014, Jackson accumulated 243 receiving yards and a touchdown, which came during a 37-34 Eagles victory in Week 3:
Despite playing for a 4-12 team, Jackson thrived in his first season with the Washington franchise. Jackson averaged a league-leading 20.9 yards-per-reception in 2014, which led to him finding the endzone on six occasions. He caught three touchdown passes, including the one above, from Kirk Cousins. Robert Griffin III connected with Jackson in the endzone twice in 2014, and Colt McCoy even found him for a touchdown as well.
Across Jackson's final two seasons in D.C., he did catch eight total touchdowns, all of which came from Cousins.
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Jackson became a free agent after the 2016 season, ultimately landing a three-year/$33.5 million contact with the Buccaneers, who were attempting to put a strong core of talent around former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston.
Ironically, Jackson would catch seven touchdown passes in two seasons in Tampa, just one of which was thrown by Winston. The other six came from Ryan Fitzpatrick, including a game-opening bomb against the Eagles in Week 2 of the 2018 season against the Eagles:
Urban legend has it that Jackson told Eagles spanish play-by-play announcer Rickie Ricardo "I've got something for you today, Papi" just prior to this game, and boy did he.
After a half-decade of being tortured every time that they played him, the Eagles reacquired Jackson in a trade prior to the the 2019 season. Their initial returns on investment were incredible, as Jackson caught two touchdown passes from Carson Wentz in the first game of the season:
Unfortunately for Wentz, Doug Pederson and the Eagles, a core muscle injury would destroy Jackson's 2019 season, an individual campaign that barley got off the ground after such an exciting start.
2020 was much of the same, as injuries limited Jackson to just five games. However, he did turn back the clock a bit in Week 16, as he landed on the receiving end of an 81-yard touchdown pass thrown by Jalen Hurts:
Hurts became the 11th quarterback to throw a touchdown pass to Jackson. A fellow second-round pick by the Eagles, Hurts was just 10 years old when Jackson caught his first NFL touchdown pass.
And then Sunday, Jackson caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford, the 12th quarterback to connect with him for a score. The 75-yard touchdown allowed Jackson to pass Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and become the NFL record holder on most touchdowns of 50 or more yards:
It's unclear if Jackson will be able to stay healthy, but if he can, it appears that the 2021 Rams may be talented enough to help him reach his first Super Bowl, potentially capping an incredible career.
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