Taylor (Jacobs) to Start in 2005?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

The Washington Times reports that Gibbs is eager to see Taylor Jacobs in the starting lineup in 2005 - a move that would likely bump recent free-agent acquisition David Patten to #3 on the Redskins' wide receiver depth chart.

I'm not sure where the Times is getting this information, but it's something many Warpathers have speculated would happen. Moreover, it's no real surprise considering that Jacobs was projected as a mid-first round pick in 2003 and was given heaps of praise by Champ Bailey, Mark Brunell, and Fred Smoot. In 2003, Champ Bailey said Jacobs was the best route-runner on the team. In 2004, Mark Brunell was quoted as saying that Jacobs was the most polished 2nd year wideout he's ever seen. In 2004, Fred Smoot said that Jacobs has the potential to be a big-playmaker.

Despite being picked in the early-to-mid second round of the 2003 draft and the praise he has drawn from teammates, Jacobs has yet to demonstrate his abilities in regular-season games. In his rookie season, Jacobs was inactive for eight games and posted a mere 3 catches for 37 yards and one touchdown. In 2004, Jacobs was inactive for one game, appeared in 15 games, and started 4 games catching 16 passes for 178 yards. Jacobs's best game in 2004 was in Week 17 against the Vikings where Jacobs posted 3 receptions for 56 yards (18.7 ypc) with a career-long 45 yard reception.

Perhaps Taylor's lack of production in his rookie and sophomore seasons can be attributed to Taylor's injury in 2003 and the 2004 coaching staff's desire to see if Gardner could step it up. Ultimately, I don't know why Jacob's production hasn't been great, but I for one would like to see Jacob's production match his hype. If Jacobs were to come on strong, I'd be much more confident in the receiving corps (Moss, a rising-Jacobs, Patten, Thrash, McCants, Dyson, Brown) and the offense as whole.