J.C. Jackson named Chargers’ ‘player to root for’ by NFL.com

Fans live to root for their favorite players. If you’re a big enough football-head (shoutout Hey Arnold!) then at some point you may be finding yourself rooting for random players across the league that do not play for your squad.

If you also find yourself spewing too much fandom and you don’t know where to put it, NFL Network’s Jason McCourty just put together a list of one player from all 32 teams that he believes everyone should be rooting for during the 2023 season.

If you’re curious about who McCourty picked for the Chargers, that player was none other than cornerback J.C. Jackson is still in the thick of rehabbing his way back onto the field.

“An undrafted free-agent signee in 2018, Jackson worked in New England to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league, ultimately earning himself a big payday last offseason. But August ankle surgery hampered his early days with the Bolts, and upon return, he struggled in coverage before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7. The 27-year-old has grit and the ability to fight through adversity. Expect him to rebound in a big way in 2023.”

After the Chargers signed Jackson to a contract worth $82.5 million a year ago, everyone in the Chargers fan base will be rooting vigorously for him to return swiftly so he can start contributing to this defense in another pivotal year under Brandon Staley. With Bryce Callahan still on the market, the Chargers are without their reigning interception leader from the 2022 regular season (three) and they’ll be looking squarely at Jackson to contribute in that category whenever he is healthy.

But even outside of the fan base, NFL fans who were fans of Jackson’s expeditious rise from undrafted free agent to one of the NFL’s best ballhawks likely garnered him fans from all over. When that time comes, expect to see plenty of excitement from across the social media landscape.