By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Eagles have drafted a pair of wide receivers from the PAC-12 in the past decade.
In 2008, the Birds traded out of the first round and spent their second round pick on speedster DeSean Jackson from Cal. Ten years, and countless highlights later, fans are clamoring about his possible return this offseason.
Then in 2015, Chip Kelly spent the 19th overall pick on Nelson Agholor. Needless to say, things didn't exactly turn out as expected.
But now, as the Eagles begin to desperately search for playmakers to pair with Carson Wentz, they could find themselves staring at another kid who played his college games on the West Coast: John Ross.
The former Washington Husky started for just one season due to injury, but what a season it was. Ross caught 81 passes for 1,150 receiving yards and found the end zone a whopping 17 times, many on highlight plays like this one:
Not only does Ross easily blow by his defender and make a half dozen would-be tacklers look silly on his way to the end zone, but his ability to adjust back and find the ball in the air is Jackson-esque. On that night, Ross hung 208 yards and three touchdowns on Cal, on just six catches.
As Emily Kaplan recently wrote on MMQB.com, Ross no longer just emulates Jackson on the field, but he started training with the former Eagle last offseason:
In a two-hour session, Jackson had Ross mimic his footwork drills. The veteran explained what he looks for on routes. Most importantly, he imparted this advice: "You’re fast, but you don’t have to use all of your speed every single time. Use your speed as a weapon, slow down sometimes. Focus on technique and that’s how you’ll beat your guy."
"It sounds so simple, but it’s not, and at first, I didn’t really understand," Ross says. "But DeSean and I kept talking during the season, probably two times a week, and then it just clicked. By using his advice, that’s how I took my game to the next level."
Now, let's be clear: Ross is not better than Mike Williams or Corey Davis. Should the Eagles find themselves with two of those three on the board when they are picking at 14 or 15, Ross would likely be the odd-man out. His game is just too one-dimensional at this point to be taken over complete receivers like Williams and Davis.
But, the Eagles have a lot of holes to fill. If Howie Roseman were to trade into the latter half of the first round, he would have to really consider. In a draft that is super deep in areas where the Eagles have needs, adding an additional mid-round pick that could be used on a defensive back and taking Ross would make a lot of sense.
The biggest drawback on Ross right now, besides his size, is his injury history. Ross missed all of 2015 with a torn ACL and had three knee surgeries before that injury. Needless to say, that is something worth worrying about.
Simply put, Ross is as close as the universe has come to recreating DeSean Jackson. And if the Eagles are really interested in bringing back the mentor on a big contract, they should look into acquiring the young student for a fraction of the cost.
