San Francisco 49ers: Why Dwayne Bowe Is Better Fit Than Vincent Jackson

NBC Bay Area's Doug Williams wrote a column recently titled, "Chargers' Jackson Would be a Perfect Fit with 49ers," an idea I'm completely opposed to.

Vincent Jackson, while not exactly a scrub, isn't nearly as good a fit for the San Francisco 49ers as Dwayne Bowe, another receiver scheduled to hit the market in a month's time.

Jason LaCanfora of NFL Network has said he expects Jackson to move on from San Diego due to the fact that they won't franchise him.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made it clear that they are making Bowe a priority in free agency, but they have yet to franchise him and are deciding whether to use it on him or cornerback Brandon Carr. 

This leaves the door open for the 49ers to possibly snag Bowe from the Chiefs, though it is still a long shot.

Even if these contract situations weren't as they are, Bowe is still a better fit for the 49ers.

Consider that Jackson has played in Norv Turner's offense since 2007 with Philip Rivers, one of the league's best gun-slinging quarterbacks. You would think that he might have had at least one breakout year during the last five years playing in this system with this quarterback, but he has not.

Jackson's career highs came in 2009: 68 catches for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns.

Even if you take away his 2010 season, which was cut short due to stubbornness, Jackson's career average since 2007 isn't that impressive: 57 catches for 999 yards and seven touchdowns per year.

Tell me again why he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread?

In contrast, Bowe has showed the ability and the stats to be a legitimate No. 1 receiver in the NFL. He had a monster year in 2010, collecting 72 catches for 1,162 yards and 15 touchdowns. He did this with Matt Cassel, which makes his achievement all the more impressive due to the fact that Cassel isn't an elite quarterback. 

Bowe had an atrocious touchdown-producing 2011, but you can point to Kansas City's quarterback situation as the chief cause. His career average, including last year but excluding 2009 where he only played half a season: 59 catches for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Bowe is a more productive and explosive receiver who is also two years younger than Jackson, not to mention he's done all of it with an inferior quarterback getting him the ball. 

I think I've made my point.

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