Word from Eagles training camp this summer was that wide receiver DeSean Jackson looked as fast as ever while filling what looked like a prominent role in the team’s offense, but his snap count in Sunday’s loss to Washington left some people scratching their heads.
Jackson played 54 percent of the offensive snaps as the team spread out the workload at wideout between five players over the course of the afternoon. On Monday, Eagles coach Doug Pederson said that he expects Jackson to take on a bigger role in the weeks to come.
“Obviously he’s a big part of the offense, but at the same time, we want to make sure that he’s a guy that’s healthy and fresh for us down the long haul here,” Pederson said at his press conference. “I think each week, I would anticipate his rep count to increase as we go, and we’re going to be smart with him but we also know that he’s an explosive receiver for us and we want to get him on the field as much as possible moving forward.”
Jackson only played 14 snaps after Week One last season because of a core muscle injury and that experience makes it easy to understand why the Eagles would want to ease him into this campaign. Given the need for offensive spark after Sunday’s loss, that increase may need to be a sharp one.