With the birth of DeSean Jackson on the Philadelphia Football scene last week, I thought it would be fun to go back and take a look at a wide receiver who made not quite the impact Jackson has, but had a very productive career nonetheless.  This player was similar to Jackson in two ways.  He stood 5’11″ and weighed 181pbs when he was drafted out of Purdue University in the 1990 draft and also was the last Eagles rookiw wide reciever to start a game.  This guys name was… Calvin Williams.

Williams was the 3rd receiver drafted in the 1990 draft by Buddy Ryan, who chose Mike Bellamy and Fred Barnett ahead of Williams.  But injuries to Mike Quick, the departure of Chris Carter, and a Keith Jackson holdout forced the Eagles to not only use Williams but also Barnett in a starters capacity.  However, their transition from rookie to starters was not as seamless as Jackson’s has been to date.

“We were the topic of a lot of conversation, most of it bad,” Williams said. “No one knew us. We were untested, even to Randall. There wasn’t a lot expected of us.”

But both players helped to propel the Eagles into the playoffs after starting the season with 1 -3 start.

Barnett would become the future All Pro, but Williams made a major impact with the Eagles passing game.  He had two season of 60 or more catches and led the Eagles with 10 TD’s in 1993.   Williams played seven season for the Eagles (playing the last 14 games of his career with the Baltimore Ravens (the town he grew up in), before retiring in 1996.  He finished his Eagles career ranked ninth on the all time receptions list, just behind his friend Barnett.