Chicago Bears: Ending the confusion about the safety position

The Chicago Bears select, Eddie Jackson – Game-Changer

The Chicago Bears found a gem in the making with Eddie Jackson in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Jackson was so talented that he started from day one. Amos, at the time, had lost his spot to either Eddie Jackson or Quinten Demps. Nobody will ever actually know.

Jackson, according to PFF, had a 69.0 coverage grade his rookie year but showed that he could explode from one side of the field to the other to break up passes by any means necessary. Jackson would improve his grades to 94.7 in coverage and 76.7 in run defense in 2018. The concern with Chicago Bears fans is that he regressed in 2019 in both categories. Most fans will blame the fact that he played primarily in the box as a strong safety.

Eddie Jackson had the Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio leading him to his successful all-pro season in 2018 and now has Chuck Pagano, who worked with Vic Fangio when they both were coaching for the Baltimore Ravens.

Ed Reed, the future hall of fame safety, posted a 94.9 PFF grade from 2006 to 2012. Jackson was compared instantly to Reed as soon as the Chicago Bears hired Chuck Pagano. Pagano knows that there will never be another Ed Reed, but Eddie Jackson has a chance to create his own legacy. What many don’t know is that Reed was not just a ball-hawking safety.

Reed was lined up in the box a lot more than one would imagine. Between 2006 and 2012, Reed had 92 snaps where he was turned into a blitzing pass rusher. Using Reed’s natural explosion, he created 14 quarterback pressures and a couple of batted balls.

PFF started collecting data in 2006, so there are some missing numbers from his previous four years in the league. Eddie Jackson posted a 56.4 passing grade in 2017 and has improved every year to 2019, in which he had a 79.0 grade. So the story shows that Pagano and Fangio wanted more out of Jackson than just being a deep free safety.