Chicago Bears: Who is to blame for the Eddie Jackson’s failure?
Eddie Jackson needs to be elite now and for years to come for the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears offseason has been all about the quarterbacks and the offense, but what about the defense. The Chicago Bears defense was elite in 2018 yet took a step back in 2019. Not too many are blaming the Chicago Bears players. Khalil Mack regressed, and Eddie Jackson regressed.
Regardless of the reasons, if these players are genuinely elite, they should still produce at a high level. My concern is not toward Khalil Mack as much, considering he still had a Pro Football Focus Grade (PFF) of 86.2 in 2019. Mack hasn’t scored that low since his 86.9 grade in 2014 — his rookie year.
Eddie Jackson is my concern. Lots of analysts have shared their thoughts on how Eddie Jackson needs to play the center field role a lot more. I am not arguing that. But, shouldn’t Jackson be productive despite playing half of his center field role and a half in the box?
We talk about how quarterbacks need to play in specific schemes to be productive, yet elite quarterbacks seem to just produce despite their system. Jackson had a 66.8 overall PFF grade in 2019 but had a 93.2 grade in 2018. During Jackson’s rookie year, he scored a 68.3 PFF grade.
If Eddie Jackson is genuinely elite, which I believe he can be, he needs to thrive in any system he plays in. I won’t expect him to be the top safety year in and year out if he isn’t being played in the system that fits him best. However, I do expect him to play better than HaHa Clinton-Dix, who has averaged around a 72.0 PFF grade throughout his career.
Next. Can Akiem Hicks get back to elite form?. dark
Eddie Jackson needs to lift his secondary to a new level like Kam Chancellor and Ed Reed have for their respective defenses. Tarik Cohen shared how he slacked off a bit last season, so maybe that was the trouble for some of the other Chicago Bears players from the 2017 NFL draft.