Instant analysis: DeSean Jackson’s speed is exactly what Rams offense needs

The Los Angeles Rams were aggressive in their pursuit of Matthew Stafford this offseason, adding one of the NFL’s premier deep passers. Now, they have a perfect deep threat for him to target down the field.

The Rams have agreed to terms on a deal with DeSean Jackson, a 34-year-old veteran with elite speed despite being near the end of his career. All offseason, Sean McVay and Les Snead have talked about the need to add explosive players to the offense, and that’s exactly what Jackson is.

In his career, he’s led the NFL in yards per reception four times, including in 2018 when he averaged 18.9 yards per catch with the Buccaneers. In the 13 seasons he’s played, Jackson has never averaged fewer than 13.4 yards per catch, with a career average of 17.4.

For comparison, Josh Reynolds led all Rams receivers with an average of 11.9 yards per catch. Cooper Kupp has gained 12.4 yards per catch in his career, which is the same as Robert Woods’ career mark.

Needless to say, Jackson adds a much-needed element of speed and downfield playmaking ability to the Rams’ offense. He raises the Rams’ margin for error on offense, so hopefully they won’t need to go 10-plus plays every drive just to put points on the board.

“When you have to go 12- and 15-play drives consistently, your margin for error is so small, the level of competition is so great that you’ve got to be able to find ways to continuously create explosives, give yourself a little bit of margin for error that it’s not always taking that many plays to produce points in this league,” McVay said last month. “And I think any good offense, any one that’s in the upper echelon of the league, that’s something you can check the box on, and I think that’s something we’ve definitely got to do a better job of, starting with me this next season.”

Jackson may be 34 and near the end of his NFL career, but he can still score from just about anywhere on the field. Check out these highlights from 2019, when he scored two touchdowns and racked up 154 yards receiving in the season opener again Washington.

Those scores were from 51 and 53 yards out, too.

Jackson is exactly the type of deep threat the Rams need, and he won’t prevent them from drafting another receiver, too. They’ve shown interest in D’Wayne Eskridge, arguably the draft’s most explosive receiver, so he could be a possibility in the third round or so, too.

With Jackson only coming aboard for one year, and with his injury history, it’s a perfect low-risk, high-reward opportunity for the Rams. The contract is likely to be for near the league minimum, given his age and the Rams’ salary cap situation.

With Stafford under center looking to throw deep, Jackson could become a favorite target of his. And with defenses having to pay attention to those deep routes, it will open up things for Kupp and Woods underneath.

So long as he can stay healthy, Jackson could be a key playmaker for the Rams on offense and possibly in the return game, too.