It was bad enough when Adrian Amos ended up leaving as a free agent in 2019. What made it so much worse was he went to the Green Bay Packers. Now as if the former Chicago Bears 5th round pick weren’t trolling fans enough, it seems his shadow looms over a teammate as well. Nobody disputed back in 2018 that Eddie Jackson was the better of the two safeties on the roster.
In the past two years though? It appears that opinion has flipped. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus released his rankings of the 32 best safeties in the NFL going into this season. Amos sat at a comfortable 9th on the list. Jackson? He’d sunk to a distant 23rd. No doubt much of this is due to his rather disappointing 2020 season where he failed to record an interception. In fact, Amos has more interceptions in the past two years (4) than Jackson does (2).
“Jackson had one of the best seasons we have ever seen at the safety position back in 2018, earning an overall PFF grade of 93.2 and a coverage grade of 94.7, but since Vic Fangio left town to coach the Broncos, Jackson’s elite play has evaporated and he has posted seasons of 67.0 and 59.5 in terms of PFF grade. Jackson is still just 26 and has too much talent to never find elite play again, but he needs to find a solution this offseason.”
Maybe that is what makes it hurt the most.
That the argument is actually fair. Amos has played the best football of his career since joining the Packers in 2019. He isn’t a star but his presence was vital to a lot of their defensive success while reaching back-to-back NFC championship games. All the while Jackson seems to have become lost without the presence of Vic Fangio. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Justin Simmons is ranked #1 on Monson’s list. Simmons is in Denver playing for Fangio.
Jackson’s upcoming 2021 season is under a considerable microscope. A lot of people are wondering if he’ll ever live up to that massive new contract he signed to make him one of the highest-paid safeties in the league. Getting him back on track is probably among the reasons Sean Desai was promoted to defensive coordinator. Not only is he the former safeties coach, but he is also a Fangio disciple.
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Eddie Jackson seems ready for a fresh start
To clarify this, he took advantage of the league’s new uniform policy that allowed defensive backs to wear numbers in the single digits. Jackson decided to switch from #39 which he’s worn since his rookie year to #4, his number from his college days at Alabama. If this gives him some extra juice for 2021? That is great. The Bears are certainly going to need him what with all the changes in the secondary this offseason.
Kyle Fuller is gone. Buster Skrine is gone. Eddie Jackson is now the best player on the back end of that defense. Or at least should be the best player. Fans have grown frustrated with his regressed play. It wasn’t just the lack of interceptions. Quarterbacks had a 110.1 passer rating when targeting him in coverage last season. The worst of his career. His one saving grace was forcing three fumbles and returning another for a touchdown.
The playmaker is still in there.
It comes down to whether he can bring it back out with the same consistency he did three years ago. If the Bears want another shot at the playoffs this season, then he’ll have to. Maybe a switch back to the Fangio-style of scheme is what he needs. The system was well-known for giving him more freedom to use his instincts. Something that was always a key part of his game. It depends on whether Desai has the same command that Fangio did.
