Packers’ Jackson playing with more finesse
Third-year CB hopes to avoid penalties
GREEN BAY – There are two Josh Jacksons, and they yield strikingly different results.
The first is the Green Bay Packers cornerback you've seen – and too often not seen – these past two seasons. He ran a 4.56 40 at the NFL scouting combine, but you wouldn't need the stopwatch to know. This Josh Jackson must win at the snap to have any shot. If he doesn't, he's trailing receivers deep downfield, a step slow.
The second, though?
More and more, that Josh Jackson is starting to show up during the first two weeks of Packers training camp. That Josh Jackson does not miss at the snap. He gets his hands on receivers, jamming them, making it almost impossible to run their routes.
“I think you win a lot of your reps at the line of scrimmage,” Jackson said, “and I think if you can really just focus on that and then just get into your progressions as far as routes, reading what the receiver does, it definitely helps. I think the line is probably the main area of focus where I'm trying to improve on camp and get comfortable.”
Jackson's comfort – so elusive in his first two seasons – has been more apparent early in this camp. He has stifled Jake Kumerow in one-on-one drills. His jam has stopped Marquez ValdesScantling in his tracks. This is what Jackson does with the leverage from those 31-inch arms. Cornerbacks can cover without elite speed. Richard Sherman ran a 4.56 40, same as Jackson. If Jackson can get his hands on receivers early, before their speed hits full throttle, he can bump them off their routes.
The question, given how penalized physical cornerback play can be in the NFL, is whether Jackson can consistently win by mauling receivers instead of running with them. In this league, too much contact leads to yellow flags.
“One of the things with Josh,” defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said, “is we kind of talked a little bit about not being so overly muscle with guys on the football field. You gotta have a little finesse in your game, and that's one of the things that we're working on right now, is don't try to stop a guy at the line of scrimmage, just cover him.”
Since entering the NFL as a secondround pick, Jackson has struggled with the “just cover” element. There's handsy at the line of scrimmage, and there's handsy downfield. Too often, Jackson has grabbed and pulled when receivers cut their routes, relying on his hands in coverage instead of his feet.
Bad habits are tough to break. It's a process for every young cornerback to learn, when to use hands against receivers and when to pull them back. In camp, the Packers are drilling “just cover” into Jackson's mind.
To that end, Jackson has played a good amount of off coverage the past couple weeks. That's where he was Tuesday inside Lambeau Field, waiting on receiver Reggie Begelton to break his route. When Begelton turned to face quarterback Tim Boyle, Jackson jumped on the football. He reached around Begelton without making contact to knock away Boyle's pass, forcing a third-down incompletion.
It was the kind of finesse the Packers are hoping for.
“I think there's been many a time where he's in position to make some plays,” coach Matt LaFleur said, “and he's gotten his hands on some balls. And then there's other times where you might see a little tug here and there, and we've got to get him to stay away from that because I don't think he needs to rely on that.”
The game might be slowing for Jackson in his third season. Unlike past years, the Packers have kept him at one position in camp, focusing on the perimeter instead of working the slot. There's less for Jackson to think about, allowing him to play freely.
If it continues, Jackson could give the Packers needed depth at cornerback. The Packers had good fortune with injuries last season, Kevin King staying healthy for 15 games and Jaire Alexander playing all 16, but there's no guarantee that will happen in 2020. A good secondary needs a reliable perimeter corner ready to come off the sideline.
“It's just all about getting your confidence up there,” Jackson said, “and just figuring out your techniques, figuring out what your playbook is, and playing fast. If you can play fast and not really focus too much on the past, or the past plays, you can really focus on the present and just go out and just play football.
“That's what I feel like I've been doing.”