From Reiss today:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/07/observations_fr_6.html
First of all I disagree with you that Gaff is a JAG. Gaffney has good size for a WR (6-1, 200) and is a good athlete. He is a very good route runner with good quickness/nimbleness who sets up DB's with top notch instincts to gain separation. He has a quick initial burst to push off the line off scrimmage which allows him to get open eventhough he is not the fastest player. He has very good hands and also adjusts well to make tough catches. Gaffney is a leaper who makes tough catches in traffic (see Indy playoff game, one footed tip toe catch in back of the end zone). He is a solid, solid 3rd WR and could be a #2 for some teams.
Now on to Jackson. He has had some injuries but I think those have allowed him to gain a different vantage point and allowed him to learn how to become a pro. He was not a real polished product coming out of college and needs to learn how to run better routes and set up DB's. He was really, really raw and being out w/injuries hasn't allowed him to work the physical part of the game. He has good size (6-1, 215) and is strong which gives him the ability to break tackles and make plays after the catch. He had good hands in college but hasn't shown it so far with the Pats. You need to remember that he is still really young at 23 yrs old. Sometimes it pays to be patient, just look at Lester for the Sox - people were dying to trade away this kid but it looks like he could be a great player going forward so Theo is being reward for exhibiting patience. Jackson has some things he needs to work on, like his route running and he needs to dictate to the DB not the other way around. Once he gets comfortable and stops thinking out on the field I believe he will take off as a player because he is a super athlete with the tools to develop into a solid, solid WR. It won't cost us anything to show some patience and allow this kid to show us what he can do. Some guys get it right away, but more often than not WR's take some time to develop. "Patience is the companion of wisdom."
Saint Augustine
Aiken and Washington are much different players than Jackson and are competing for different roles on this team. Bethel Johnson was never the player Jackson was talent wise. Although listed at 5-11, 201 I think he was closer to 180 and although fast and elusive he was not a physical player at all. He never pushed hard off the line when beginning his route and was a terrible route runner. With those two weaknesses you can never be a WR in the NFL. To top it all off he thought he was better than he was, a lot of that is due to his guardian who was feeding his head with nonsense about playing in San Diego or Dallas and how he could be a star there because Weiss was wasting his talents.
I apologize about the length here.