Fantasy Football: Evaluating The Philadelphia Eagles' Receiving Corps

As much as fantasy owners hate to think about running back by committees, equally as tough on the noggin' is a team with more wide receivers than you can shake a stick at.

One team that possesses this problem is the Philadelphia Eagles. Granted, Donovan McNabb is probably loving it, but us fantasy owners more often than not get screwed over while trying to predict who will emerge from the proverbial pack on any given Sunday.

Returning from last year's squad includes:  DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett.

The big newcomer to the team is rookie Jeremy Maclin.

Here's the lowdown on the prominent ones:

DeSean Jackson

Jackson had a mildly successful campaign in his rookie season last year with the Eagles.  He caught 62 balls for 912 yards, averaging 14.7 yards a catch, and also snagged two touchdowns. He led the team in the first two categories.

A young wide receiver showing this much chemistry this early on with his quarterback is certainly a good thing; as we have seen many two-way tandems evolve from these two positions, (Manning and Marvin, Rodgers and Jennings to name a few).

In college at California, DeSean also played the duties of kick-returning and was very successful at it, regularly making the week's best with his dazzling moves and shifty maneuvering in the open field. Last season, Jackson collected upwards of 400 return yards and also added in one score. With the addition of Maclin however (an elusive return man in his own right), one can only wonder which of these two return dynamos will actually get to return kicks.

Another feature about Jackson is his ability to rush the ball. With so many teams now utilizing the ever popular "wildcat" offense (which generally asks for either a speedy running back or receiver to take direct snaps), it is not out of the question for Jackson to potentially see a few rushing attempts each game, which could result in 10-30 yards, giving you one to three more fantasy points from him each game.

In 12-team mock drafts being held on the great site, fantasyfootballcalculator.com, Jackson has been going around the middle of the fifth round.

For someone who has the potential to produce No. 1 WR kind of numbers, that's a steal.

However, to be safe, it is advised that he play a no higher role than No. 2 WR on your team.

moderate projection:  900 receiving yards, 6 total touchdowns

realistic potential:  1,200 receiving yards, 9 total touchdowns

Kevin Curtis

Mr. Inconsistent.

This guy has been all over the map as far as production goes. The year of 2007 had him setting the NFL record for most receiving yards in a quarter, (200+), and accumulating over 1,100 yards while also grabbing six touchdowns. This past year however was a different story. Being shut down for the first six games of the season with injury, his season totals suffered horribly, and he never quite found the form that had gripped him a season ago. Curtis totaled only 390 receiving yards and two touchdowns throughout the rest of the season.

Personally, I'm not a believer in Curtis. Not only is he oft-injured, but the inconsistency in his numbers leads me to believe that his 2007 season was nothing but a fluke.

Take a look at his season totals dating back to 2003 with the Rams.

• 2003:  four receptions, 13 yards, zero touchdowns
• 2004:  32 receptions, 421 yards, two touchdowns
• 2005:  60 receptions, 801 yards, six touchdowns
• 2006:  40 receptions, 479 yards, four touchdowns
• 2007:  77 receptions, 1,110 yards, six touchdowns
• 2008:  33 receptions, 390 yards, two touchdowns

Looks to me like those 2007 totals were big outliers. Take away that one season and his career averages read:

420 yards, three touchdowns (rounded up).

Those are hardly numbers that I want to take part in.

Currently he is being selected in the tenth round, along with the likes of receivers Domenik Hixon and Deion Branch, both of whom i'd rather have.

If you decide to draft Curtis, he should be no more than bench material at this point; at least until he starts producing consistently.

moderate projection:  500 receiving yards, five touchdowns

realistic potential:  750 receiving yards, seven touchdowns (if healthy for a full season)

Jeremy Maclin

This guy was a beast in college for the Mizzou Tigers. He was an electrifying receiver as well as return man. In 2007, in his first college football season, Maclin gained Consensus first-team All-American honors, and also set the NCAA Freshman record for most all-purpose yards in a season. He finished the season with 80 receptions and 16 touchdowns.

Then in 2008, he kicked it up a notch. He led the NCAA in all-purpose yards per game, (202.36), and also led the nation at the end of the season in total yards with over 2,800 (1,260 receiving, 1,010 kickoff, 293 rushing and 270 punt return yards), all in just 14 games.

As previously mentioned, it will be interesting to see whether Jackson or Maclin get the majority of the return duties.  My guess is that they will split (one for punts, one kickoffs).

Right now in drafts, Maclin is being drafted in the eleventh round, right after fellow teammate Curtis. I would much rather have Maclin, strictly because of potential.

Like Curtis, Maclin should be drafted only as a bench player, so you can monitor his status and plug him in should he require you to do so at some point in the season.

moderate projection:  450 yards, three touchdowns

realistic potential:  600 yards, five to six touchdowns

Reggie Brown

The forgotten man.

And really, where did this guy go the past two seasons?

It seems so long ago that Brown experienced his breakout year in just his second season in the league in 2006. That season he put up 816 yards and eight touchdowns and was all geared up and ready to join the ranks of fantasy's elite wideouts. But he fell from grace the following season, while not in yards (780), but in touchdowns, a meager four.

Then this past season hit and it took everyone for a turn.

18 receptions, 252 yards, one touchdown

Granted, he did miss six games last season and that certainly put a dent into those totals, but still, for 10 games you would imagine more stats than those that he put up.

Brown is currently going undrafted in mock drafts so far. This could be a mistake as I believe that last season was a fluke, and I honestly don't think that people realize that he missed a good chunk of time due to injury.

That said, if you do decide to draft him, make it no more than one of your last picks.  Needless to say is that he commands no more spot than the bench of your team right now.

moderate projection:  600 yards, four touchdowns

realistic potential:  750 yards, six touchdowns

So while situations like these can cause headaches to a fantasy owner, they also lessen players value, which in turn makes them easier to attain on draft day for you.