It should come to no surprise that New England Patriots’ undrafted rookie cornerback J.C. Jackson is emerging as a special player in the NFL.
Jackson had the talent of a first round draft pick, but he accrued some issues off of the field that held him back. He’s moving on from those issues, and he slowly became a crucial part of New England’s playoff run last season. The Patriots secondary included Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty, Jackson, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon.
Jackson was competing at a high level with these seasoned veterans, and he was even grouped together with Gilmore as one of the best cornerback combinations heading into 2019 by Pro Football Focus. PFF also put together the top five NFL players in highest forced incompletion rate. Gilmore led the list as the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the category, while Jackson was ranked No. 5.
Jackson’s ceiling is sky-high, and one NFL analyst even believes that he could be a Pro Bowler next season. He was able to reel in three interceptions last season, while only allowing 22 receptions on 42 attempts, with 242 yards and no touchdowns.
He only played 16 percent of the team’s snaps in the first 11 games last season — but he played in 79.9 percent of snaps in the following games. Jackson has proven that he can shine on the biggest stage in the NFL, and he’ll only improve with the guidance of Gilmore.
