Chicago Bears: Why you shouldn't sleep on new safety Eddie Jackson

Can Eddie Jackson break the mold of past mid-round safety picks and make a lasting impact for the Chicago Bears?

With a deep defensive class at their disposal, the Chicago Bears took an unexpected path in the 2017 NFL Draft. After taking six defensive players with their nine total 2016 picks, Ryan Pace drafted four offensive players in five picks this year, highlighted by their trade for Mitch Trubisky.

Given the lack of takeaways generated by the 2016 defense, this neglect for defensive talent angered and confused Bears fans. Perhaps, though, the Bears felt they could improve this year mainly by developing their overflowing stable of young corners and safeties. After all, the Bears are still rebuilding and trying to find out what they have on their roster now.

However, as mentioned before, the Bears did take a defensive player in the fourth round: safety Eddie Jackson. A former first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American selection as a junior, Jackson may very well have been a second-round pick if he’d left school for the NFL last year. Instead, he returned to Tuscaloosa for one last shot at the BCS National Championship. And unfortunately, his season ended early due to injury (broken leg).

Now, it’s easy to look at Jackson and think, “Great, another fourth-round safety, and an injury-prone one at that.” Also, he doesn’t at all invoke the figures of hard-hitting safeties of the past, like Doug Plank or Mike Brown. His lack of aggressive physicality makes many view him as more of a backup safety than a potential starter. But watching Jackson play, I see the strong possibility that we could be underselling this unheralded mid-round safety. In fact, I believe he’s exactly the kind of player that can help stabilize one of the Bears’ most troubled positions.

Experience

The idea of in-game experience, or lack thereof, has been bandied about a great deal lately in wake of the Trubisky pick. In Jackson’s case, he has a treasure trove of it. He started his Alabama career as a corner, playing in seven games (four starts) as a true freshman. And despite tearing his ACL prior to his sophomore season, he returned to play in 11 games (ten starts) that year. Then, once he made the move to safety, he started in every game he played in for the remainder of his Alabama career.

In short, he’s played a lot of football, at the highest level college football has to offer to boot. Also, if you watch the tape, you can see Jackson organizing the defense on every play from the safety position. Knowing the kind of pro-football-prep factory Nick Saban runs, especially on defense, his experience and intelligence should make Jackson’s transition to NFL football easier than for your average rookie defensive back.

Coverage Ability

The prototypical Bears mid-round safety of years past (a la Major Wright, Brandon Hardin, and Deon Bush) have been athletic guys who run fast and hit hard. As such, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that they generally struggled to make plays in the passing game. Jackson, however, is cut from a slightly different cloth.

Stemming from his background as a corner, Jackson has above-average coverage skills for a safety. Being a bit spoiled by Malik Hooker’s tape, I must say that Jackson doesn’t have Hooker’s instincts and ranging ability. But if you want a guy who knows how to play a legit center field, Jackson certainly fits that bill. In deep coverage, he has the instincts to know when to get off the hashmark and run to the football. And with his length and speed, he can easily run with tight ends and potentially match up with slot receivers.

These traits are exactly the kind of thing compelling the Bears to try out Deiondre’ Hall at safety this season. In a league increasingly featuring athletic, pass-catching tight end, the Bears have been behind the curve defending against them. Also, the more prevalent use of multiple receiver sets has similarly burned Chicago’s back end. Safeties must do more now than sit back and roam the deep middle or hit people in the run game. Jackson, more than any young safety on the roster, may be uniquely well-suited to helping the Bears improve against the pass.

Don’t Sweat the Injuries

Now, the fact that Jackson has torn his ACL and suffered a broken leg leads detractors to label him “injury-prone” and scowl at this pick as reckless. After all, how many games have Bears players missed due to injury in the past two years? Why add one more guy who’s going to spend more days on I.R. than on the football field?

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Here’s why I think that way of thinking may be too cynical when it comes to Jackson. On one hand, not only did he play at a high level as a sophomore after tearing his ACL prior to that season, but he had his best season as a junior. Six interceptions, two passes defended, two touchdowns, an All-SEC and All-American bid later, and I’d say he recovered alright. Also, as much as we hate broken legs around here, that’s a freak injury that, once healed, shouldn’t happen to the same leg again. And before Kevin White broke his other leg, his repaired leg looked fine early last year.

I’m no NFL doctor, but I’m more concerned about the long-term implications of Jonathan Allen’s shoulders than Jackson’s leg injuries.

Ball Skills

Not all defensive backs have great ball skills and return abilities, but Jackson does. He displayed an underrated ability to drive on throws and get his hands on the football. And while he doesn’t have blazing speed, his feel for running in the open field is top-notch. Once he made the switch the safety, he got a chance to show it off more regularly. Jackson racked up 285 return yards on his seven picks at safety, which averages out to 40.7 yards per return. And on top of that, he scored on three of those seven interceptions. Plus, Jackson returned eleven punts his senior year for 253 yards and two touchdowns. If you’re scoring at home, that’s five total touchdowns in two years. That’s more non-offensive touchdowns than the Bears have as a team in the same time span. Simply put, the Bears got themselves a true playmaker at safety.

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Jackson is not a physical specimen, nor is he an overly physical player. If he wants to earn significant playing time, he’ll need to show Vic Fangio he can play with an edge. But, if he’s back to full strength, he provides a playmaking element currently missing from the safety position for the Chicago Bears. It’s too early to say that he could start Week 1, but with his experience and playmaking ability, I wouldn’t sleep on him. And neither should you.

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Chicago Bears: Here’s why you shouldn’t sleep on new safety Eddie Jackson

By Khari Thompson | May 3, 2017