Did Chicago Bears safety, Eddie Jackson deserve his Madden 23 rating?

The Chicago Bears had an up-and-down season as a unit, and the same can be said about Eddie Jackson specifically.

Following the 2020 season, Eddie Jackson signed a $58.4 million contract extension with the Chicago Bears, and while the cost to keep Jackson went up, the performance seemingly did the opposite to start the season.

With that said, last season was one where a lot could be boiled down to the coaching staff being inept to handle the football team in a non-destructive way. When coaches are unable to do their job, it seems like a difficult task to then listen to the coach spewing nonsense from their mouth.

While the jury is still out on whether this new regime for the Chicago Bears can fix some of the damage caused by Matt Nagy, it’s likely that it can’t get any worse — right?

And with Eddie Jackson gaining a potential stud in Jaquan Brisker, as well as a new scheme that will likely have Jackson playing the up-high safety position more often. The 2018 Jackson Bears fans came to love could be on his way back into Halas Hall.

Madden 23 gave Chicago Bears safety, Eddie Jackson, a correct rating

That said, as for now, there’s not much to complain about with the way Madden 23 ranked free safeties, at least in terms of Eddie Jackson’s placement. There are likely some Steelers fans shaking their fist at the sky for Minkah Fitzpatrick’s ranking and rating, but that’s neither here nor there.

Madden 23 free safeties by rank

1. Kevin Byard: 92 OVR
2. Justin Simmons: 91 OVR
3. Micah Hyde: 91 OVR
4. Jessie Bates III: 90 OVR
5. Minkah Fitzpatrick: 89 OVR
6. Antoine Winfield: 87 OVR
7. Devin McCourty: 87 OVR
8. Marcus Williams: 86 OVR
9. Quandre Diggs: 84 OVR
10. Eddie Jackson: 83 OVR

With how on-and-off Eddie Jackson’s play was during the entirety of the 2021 NFL season, it’s not surprising to see him outside the top five safeties.

There were times when watching Eddie Jackson enraged Chicago Bears fans, yet there were also times that reminded Bears fans why Jackson got paid.

That said, the Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker pairing should only help the two become a more feared safety duo in the NFL. This is an important season for Eddie Jackson’s “legacy,” so it’s likely that there’s going to be a major chip on his shoulder.