DeSean Jackson excited about how Sean McVay plans to use him
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
DeSean Jackson had other options in free agency. There were other teams interested in the 34-year-old wide receiver, but only one team has Sean McVay as its head coach.
And for that reason, Jackson chose to sign with the Los Angeles Rams.
Jackson has long been a fan of McVay since they were together for three years in Washington from 2014-2016. He led the NFL in yards per catch twice during those three seasons and since the two went their separate ways in 2017, Jackson has been trying to find a way to reunite with the young head coach.
Now that he’s back with McVay, Jackson is excited to see what the coach has in store for him offensively.
“There were other options out there. I could have went to other teams, other places. But my focus was really reuniting with Sean McVay,” Jackson told reporters Friday. “Talking to McVay once I was a free agent and really just kind of having those open conversations, talking about the possibilities, it was something that was intriguing for me. So, I think that overweighs everything.”
What Jackson respects most about McVay is the faith he had in him in Washington. Jackson has a reputation of being a prolific deep threat, but McVay didn’t see him as a one-trick pony in their first stint together, and he still doesn’t view Jackson that way.
McVay used Jackson in multiple ways, whether it was on screens, quick hitches or underneath routes across the middle. For that reason, Jackson can’t wait to get started with the Rams.
“’He’s our deep threat, but he’s not just our deep threat,’” Jackson said, sharing how McVay viewed him. “’He’s our underneath guy, he’s our screen guy, he can run quick-hitches, he could scare people so fiercefully deep, but it’s like, we want to use him for the underneath, the screens.’ And for me, it was a great thing because when you hear about DeSean Jackson, you always think about a one-trick pony or you think about him going deep in a vertical threat, but it’s like, no, we’re going to use him where people don’t think that we’re going to be utilizing him. For me, that’s something that was very intriguing to be able to come back and reemerge with somebody that really knows me.”
Jackson has a track record of returning punts, though most of that experience came early in his career. He was asked about the possibility of contributing in the return game with the Rams and while he didn’t want to give anything away, he hinted at it in his response.
“I can’t give you all the information,” Jackson said. “Me and Sean McVay were just talking about this, I’m not going to spill all the beans, but we got some things to be excited for. Just hold on, hold your horse a little bit, you’ll see.”
