The word on the street (pick your favorite twitter follow) that the Philadelphia Eagles have announced they will place their franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson. There had been a mix of chatter about whether it would happen or not, but it looks like it is finally happening.

Jackson has indicated he is fine with the franchise tag as he looks to rebound from a 2011 season that was a bit of a mess. He is wildly talented and a monster playmaker, but he seemed to struggle at times staying focused on the task at hand.

While the 49ers may or may not have been interested in DeSean Jackson if he had hit unrestricted free agency, this decision does impact the entire wide receiver class. It removes a potential target for a lot of teams because of the restrictions of the franchise tag. This benefits the remaining receivers by shrinking the pool by one.

With Dwayne Bowe potentially also getting franchised and Stevie Johnson working on a deal with the Bills, the pool could deplete even further, benefiting the big name guys like Vincent Jackson and Marques Colston. More importantly, it could boost the value of the next level of guys, whether it be Mario Mannigham, Robert Meachem, or even the 49ers own Joshua Morgan.