When the then-Washington Football Team signed former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback William Jackson III to a three-year, $42 million deal with $26 million guaranteed, I gave the deal an A+ grade, opined that Jackson was one of the best press cornerbacks in the NFL, and also opined that this might mean that Washington might be playing more press coverage from then on.
For multiple reasons, Jackson’s tenure in the nation’s capital has been an unmitigated disaster. Let’s check off the fact that Jack Del Rio is the Commanders’ defensive coordinator, because we’ve already gone over all the coverage busts seemingly inherent in the defense Del Rio is running.
Answer: No. The Commanders currently rank 29th in pass defense DVOA, and they’ve been terrible against the pass at all levels. And Jackson, who used to be a dead-red lockdown cornerback, has suffered along with the rest. This season, per Pro Football Focus, he’s allowed 16 catches on 19 targets for 219 yards, 60 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 149.8.
Now, with head coach Ron Rivera pulling Jackson against the Titans in Week 4, and Jackson not even making the trip to Chicago to face the Bears on Thursday night, Jackson wants out.
Per Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Jackson now wants a new home. From the report:
Once a key cog in the Commanders’ secondary, Jackson is not frustrated specifically with the team.
Rather, he considers himself more of a man-to-man cornerback and Washington has run a lot of zone thus far. When Jackson signed, he envisioned himself as a true lockdown corner, covering a team’s top receiver.
It hasn’t worked out that way.
Now, Jackson could find himself with a new home.
What may complicate the picture is Jackson’s contract. He has two years left on the deal, and his 2023 cap hit is $15.75 million, which means that another team could likely have Jackson for very little draft capital if there’s willingness to take on that fiscal responsibility.
We know that the Commanders’ defense is all kinds of bad, but which teams would present the best homes for Jackson as he looks to rejuvenate his career in a more hospitable environment?
New England Patriots
This is the obvious answer anytime there’s a good man cornerback potentially on the open market, and for good reason. Bill Belichick and his staff have a long history if making the most of man cornerbacks in their schemes — rookie Jack Jones is but the most recent example. Interestingly enough, the Patriots have three cornerbacks this season — Jack, Jonathan, and Marcus — who have played very well in New England’s high rate of man coverage. But as the Patriots have allowed four touchdowns to just one interception in man coverage this season, per Sports Info Solutions, why not add a Jackson to the mix?
Pittsburgh Steelers
This makes sense for all kinds of reasons. The Steelers have played the most man coverage in the NFL on opponent dropbacks this season, with 68. While the Steelers lead the league with four interceptions in man coverage this season, they’ve also given up four touchdowns, and outside of Levi Wallace, none of their starting cornerbacks have been especially credible in man coverage. With Mike Tomlin looking for any port in a storm in a 1-4 season, perhaps this could be a thing.
It was certainly a thing when Jackson was coming out of Houston in the 2016 draft, and the Bengals jumped ahead of the Steelers to take him, when the Steelers were clearly interested. Pittsburgh took Artie Burns out of Miami with the 25th overall pick right after Cincinnati got Jackson with the 24th, and safe to say the Artie Burns era wasn’t an unmitigated success in Pittsburgh.
New Orleans Saints
Under former defensive coordinator and current head coach Dennis Allen, the Saints have always preferred to play a lot of aggressive man coverage across the board. But this season, with only the Steelers playing more man than New Orleans (66 opponent dropbacks), it stands to note that Allen’s defense has allowed 30 completions on those 66 attempts for 481 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s been as much as safety problem as a cornerback issue, but Jackson would still be a valuable addition here.
Miami Dolphins
The ongoing situation with Tua Tagovailoa and his health following multiple head injuries has eclipsed the fact the the Dolphins, who have loved to play aggressive coverage for years (they are the champions of the go-for-it Cover-0 blitz), are not at all good at it this season. Miami’s defense has allowed 33 catches on 56 targets in man coverage for 609 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Xavien Howard and Nik Needham, Miami’s most targeted cornerbacks this season, have allowed three of those touchdowns, with no interceptions.
The Dolphins should do this deal — not only to improve their own defense, but to prevent Bill Belichick from doing it, and doing what he usually does with players like this.
Detroit Lions
The Lions were the presidents of the “Don’t Play Man if you Can’t Play Man” club during Matt Patricia’s unfortunate tenure, and that has sadly continued under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn in Glenn’s second season in that role. Outside of Jeff Okudah, Detroit cornerbacks have been disastrous in man coverage, and that’s the main reason the Lions have given up 35 completions in 62 attempts for 521 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
