Should New England Patriots Target Vincent Jackson in Free Agency?

By the time the 2012 NFL offseason has begun, we may have heard speculation and rumors connecting the New England Patriots to every major free agent wide receiver.

The trend started with Rams receiver Brandon Lloyd, then turned to Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, and we've now come to Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson.

According to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the big-time big-play receiver could be headed to New England if he doesn't stay with San Diego.

"

I don't mean to scare Dolphins, Jets and Bills fans, but the word on the street is that if San Diego doesn't get WR Vincent Jackson locked up he's likely headed to a certain New England team. That's right....nail biting time.

"

Bill Belichick often says a wide receiver needs to be able to do two things: get open and catch the ball. If only it were that easy—and in a strange way, it is—but there are several other factors that go into it. What the Patriots need most in a wide receiver are three things:

1. The ability to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, taking defenders away from the middle of the field any way possible.
2. The ability to learn a complicated offense.
3. The ability to run the whole route tree, and run it effectively.

The first should be no problem, it's the second and third that should be more concerning. Jackson did most of his damage in Norv Turner's "Air Coryell" style of offense, which has its receivers running deep quite often.

This wouldn't be the first time, or even the second time, the Patriots have showed interest in Jackson, so something tells me they're pretty confident he'd be a fit. 

It's worth mentioning, too, that Brandon Lloyd was considered little more than a conventional deep threat before entering Josh McDaniels' system in Denver, and he has done nothing but succeed since then. Perhaps Jackson could be the next in line.

Follow @ErikFrenz