Harold Jackson Pops the Top on a Month at No. 29

Maybe it’s appropriate that Harold Jackson pops the top on a month.

Maybe it’s appropriate that Harold Jackson pops the top on a month.

One of the best Eagles deep threats of all-time and probably the best until DeSean Jackson arrived in town takes center stage as our jersey countdown to kickoff series reaches No. 29.

Harold Jackson proved to be one of the top home-run hitters in the entire NFL when arriving in Philadelphia in 1969 as a trade pickup from the Los Angles Rams where he had played in only two games the prior season as a 12th-round rookie out of Jackson State. Then-Rams coach George Allen never trusted rookies all that much and evidently didn’t understand what he had in the speedy Jackson.

Over the next four seasons with the Eagles, Jackson had two 1,000-yard campaigns (1969 and 1972), leading the league in receiving yards both times and being named to the Pro Bowl both seasons. In ‘72, Jackson also led the entire NFL with 62 receptions as well and was named a second-team All-Pro.

In a weird reversal considering his success, the Eagles sent Jackson back out west to the Rams who were shifting gears into the Chuck Knox era and were about to take off. In 1973 for the Rams, Jackson led the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns and was a first-team All-Pro.

Overall, Jackson spent only four of his 16 NFL seasons in what some consider a borderline Hall-of-Fame career with Philadelphia but it’s where he took off as a player, finishing with 215 receptions for 3,493 yards, an impressive 16.2 yards per catch, with 21 touchdowns.

For the decade of the 1970s, Jackson ranked first in the NFL in receptions (432), yards (7,724) and receiving touchdowns (61).

After retiring after the 1983 season, Jackson spent 30 more years as a coach at various levels. He was the WR coach in New England, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans but also worked in college, Arena Football, and the United Football League. He ended his coaching career as the head coach of his alma mater in Jackson State for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Current number 29:

Avonte Maddox. Maddox has done a bit of everything since arriving as an undersized fourth-round pick out of Pitt in 2018. Earmarked for the slot because of his 5-foot-9 size, Maddox started there was forced into action at free safety as a rookie due to injuries. At times he has also been pressed into action at CB outside the numbers where he excelled in college and that’s where he’s earmarked in 2020 now that Nickell Robey-Coleman is around to handle the outside work.

Maddox is penciled in as the starter opposite Darius Slay and will be pushed by Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas, two players with better pedigrees but not as much success over the past two seasons as Maddox.

Top to wear number 29:

3. Mark McMillian. A pint-sized 10th-round pick out of Alabama in 1992, the 5-7 McMillian was nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” and proved good enough to stick around for nearly a decade in the NFL. The first four years of that was in Philadelphia where McMillian played in all 64 regular-season games and developed into a part-time starter by his sophomore season and the next two seasons.

McMillian finished with eight interceptions for the Eagles but his best season came in Kansas City when he snared eight in one season (1997) while leading the NFL with 274 INT yards and three pick-sixes.

2. Nate Allen. Allen was drafted by the Eagles with the 37th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the selection Philadelphia got for dealing one-time star quarterback Donovan McNabb to Washington.

Allen never lived up to unrealistic expectations but did end up as a starting safety for all five seasons he spent with the Eagles, a span that included his rookie deal and another one-year contract before Philadelphia let him walk in free agency in 2015.

Allen started 69 of the 74 games he played for the Eagles and picked off 10 passes and along with three forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.

1 Harold Jackson. See Above.

Harold Jackson / Philadelphia Eagles

Runner-ups:

LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray, LeGarrette Blount. Let’s go with the one-year running backs. McCoy spent plenty of time with substantial success for the Eagles but played only his rookie season in No. 29 before shifting to the more familiar No. 25.

Murray was one of those ill-fitted Chip Kelly disasters, better known for sitting next to Jeffrey Lurie on the team plane to complain that the 702 yards he produced in 2015. Blount was a one-year success, stopping in Philadelphia in 2017 to collect his third Super Bowl ring as the Eagles’ leading rusher with 766 yards.

Others: Dick Fencl, Ray Smith, Glenn Campbell, Stephen Banas, J. “Stumpy” Thomason, Herman Bassman, Joe Pivarnick, Charles Knox, William Hughes, John Nocera, Israel Lang, Mark Burke, Al Latimer, Jo Jo Heath, Elbert Foules, Adam Walker, Corey Walker, Darrel Crutchfield, Roderick Hood, and Tony Hunt.

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportMap Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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