Chargers 90-in-90: CB J.C. Jackson

J.C. Jackson was born and raised in Immokalee, Florida and starred as a two-way player for Immokalee High School as a wide receiver and defensive back. He finished his senior season with 1,403 all-purpose yards, including 862 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns to go with 53 tackles and two interceptions on defense. He would be named a four-star prospect and was invited to play in the 2013 Under Armour All-American game.

Jackson signed with Florida to continue his football career but his time in Gainesville was cut short due to injury. After going down in the season opener, Jackson missed the remainder of the year before deciding to transfer to Riverside Community College (CA).

In his lone year at Riverside, Jackson recorded 25 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles in six games.

Prior to the 2016 season, Jackson transferred to the University of Maryland where he played two seasons before jumping to the NFL draft. In that span, Jackson recorded 80 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Jackson went undrafted in 2018 but ended up signing a three-year deal with the Patriots. He earned five starts as a rookie and picked off three passes. He increased his career-high to five interceptions in 2019 and then a whopping nine interceptions in 2020. Despite all the interceptions through his first three seasons, Jackson didn’t earn his first All-Pro nod (second team) until 2021 when he picked off eight passes, returned one for a touchdown, and broke up 23 more.

Ahead of the 2022 season, the Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract to help bolster their pass defense. Unfortunately, his first year in powder blue did not go nearly as well as many expected.

After undergoing minor surgery on his ankle ahead of the regular season, Jackson missed the team’s week one contest against the Raiders and week three against the Jaguars. In those five games played, Jackson had 15 tackles and two pass breakups against four touchdowns allowed. In week seven against the Seahawks, Jackson went down with a torn patellar tendon that cost him the remainder of the 2022 season.

Basic Info

Height: 6’1
Weight: 198
College: Florida/Maryland
Experience: 5
Years with team: 5

Contract Status

“J.C. Jackson signed a 5 year, $82,500,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including a $25,000,000 signing bonus, $40,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $16,500,000. In 2023, Jackson will earn a base salary of $12,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $17,000,000 and a dead cap value of $32,000,000.” - Spotrac.com

The Good

Jackson has been the epitome of a ballhawk during his NFL career. It wasn’t until the 2022 season that he went interception-less in any given season, but through the first four campaigns he accumulated an astonishing 25 picks. Not many players have shown to have such a natural nose for the football when it’s in the air, but Jackson is one of those guys.

The Bad

Call the surgery before the season or his lack of experience in Brandon Staley’s system, but Jackson was a shell of himself during his first year in LA. Before the injury, he was on track to set career highs in yards allowed, touchdowns allowed, yards per reception, passer rating, and completion percentage. Overall, Jackson did not look like his usual self in 2022 as he was constantly getting beat my lesser competition on a near-weekly basis.

Odds of making the roster/What to expect in 2023?

Jackson will make the team in his second season with the Chargers. He will start at outside cornerback alongside Michael Davis. After a disappointing first year in Los Angeles, expectations will be sky-high for Jackson to return to his level of play he showed off in New England.