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Once upon a time, Jerry Porter was the future of the Oakland Raiders receiving corps. He was good enough to convince Al Davis that Jerry Rice and Tim Brown were too old, and Porter could take their place. When Randy Moss joined the Raiders in 2005, he and Porter looked like a formidable receiver tandem.

Something happened, though, on the way to Porter's stardom -- Art Shell. Porter and Shell clashed constantly, and as the Raiders fell apart, both Moss and Porter lost interest and waited for their contracts to run out.

So when Moss went to New England and set a single-season record for touchdowns, it made everyone wonder if Porter might be capable of the same sort of renaissance.

That's why you can't blame the Jacksonville Jaguars -- a team with plenty of cap room and plenty of receivers who can't catch -- for betting $30 million on Porter. If a change of scenery does half as much for Porter as it did for Moss, then that would give Porter, oh, about 12 touchdown receptions, or two more than Reggie Williams, who had six more than anyone else on that team.

That's not the only reason the Jaguars added Porter, though.

The Jaguars had high hopes for Mike Walker, the Central Florida speedster who was a star at last year's summer camps, but his injured knee isn't healing well. Porter and Troy Williamson may be insurance policies against the 3rd-pick not meeting expectations.

Beyond Porter, Williamson and Reggie Williams are guys like Matt Jones and Dennis Northcutt, who, like Williamson, can't hold on to the ball in the clutch, and youngsters like Charles Sharon and John Broussard. Broussard is fast but didn't play much, despite his impressive touchdown reception in Week 1.

The competition for playing time at receiver in Jacksonville should be fierce next season. Perhaps the only real question, though, is whether Porter will live up the expectations that were dashed in Oakland. Given the Jags' vast cap room, I think it's a worthy gamble.