Kyle Fuller is gone. So the Chicago Bears secondary enters 2021 with some significant question marks. It is times like this where they really need their best players to play that way. This is where Eddie Jackson comes in. Last year, the team handed their Pro Bowl safety the richest contract for his position in NFL history at the time. Over $14 million per year. How did he respond? With the worst season of his career.
Jackson finished with zero interceptions and quarterbacks having a 110.1 passer rating when throwing in his direction. He also missed a career-high 13 tackles and was too often a liability against the run. He looked nothing like the player of two years prior. The one who played with incredible instincts and swagger. It led many to ask uncomfortable questions. Had getting his money caused Jackson to lose his edge? Was he merely a product of Vic Fangio’s system?
Those were things he clearly didn’t like hearing.
I take all this sh*t personal❗️
— Eddie Jackson (@BoJack39) July 12, 2021
So coming into the offseason, the 27-year old decided to give himself a fresh start. How? By switching jersey numbers. Gone was his original #39, replaced by the #4. The same digit he wore during his playing days at Alabama. It took some time to get settled, but it seems glimpses of the old Jackson have started to pop up at training camp. Take this interception of Andy Dalton for example.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
That looks like the classic Bojack. It would be one thing to pick off a pass from a deflection or an overthrow. Jackson instead read Dalton all the way and stepped right into the passing lane. A play that likely would’ve ended with him in the end zone for a pick-six. Those are the types of plays he was known for back in 2018.
Eddie Jackson needs to step up this season
The Bears are facing a brutal slate of quarterbacks during the first half alone including Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers. It will fall on the defense to not get railroaded during that stretch. One way to help ensure that is with some takeaways. That is a Jackson specialty. Whenever there are opportunities, he must look to take advantage. No room for excuses.
He is the main man now. The leader everybody will look to in that secondary. That mantle was passed to him when Fuller left. Eddie Jackson is too good of a player to have a repeat of what happened last season. These early signs are most welcome. It seems he is regaining his confidence. The ascent of Sean Desai as the new defensive coordinator, a Fangio disciple, has no doubt helped with that.
Jackson needs a bounceback season.
Otherwise, the questions will start to creep in about whether the Bears should think about finding a way out of his contract. Nobody wants that to happen. Especially the safety himself. He has designs on becoming an all-time great for this franchise. One that perhaps has a gold jacket waiting for him in Canton. If so, he needs to start showing everybody why.
