While some fans have been disappointed with the play of Eddie Jackon in recent years, it appears as though the Chicago Bears coaching staff is ready to give him more responsibility. Jackson is seeing his third NFL coaching staff and now his second front office. He has slowly become one of the most experienced players on the team, and the new coaching staff is looking for him to step into the veteran leadership role.
Jackson expanded on the coach’s expectations of him and noted that he had shown Jaquan Brisker how he breaks down film.
"“When they really got rid of everybody, that was the big turning point,” Jackson said. “They got rid of everybody. (Khalil) Mack was my boy. Akiem (Hicks) and Danny (Trevathan), those were my guys. But now, it’s like, you turn around and you look — oh, I’m one of those guys in the room now. These younger guys coming in, they’re gonna look at you. (Safeties) coach (Andre Curtis), he told me: ‘Listen, baby, you ready to lead? Because we’re ready to follow. You gotta lead from the front, doing all the right things even when no one’s looking.’”"
The names such as Mack, Hicks, and Trevathan did more than just lead on the field. They set the tone in practice and led by example in how they carried themselves. This is what the Bears expect to see from Eddie Jackson.
Overall, this could be a big year for Jackson. While his play fell off in recent years, some of that can be due to lining him up in the wrong spots.
Jackson had issues with tackles in 2018, but no one cared because he was playing so far away from the ball. In 2022, the drafting of Jaquan Brisker should mean that Jackson is now going away from the box for good.
Beyond that is the maturity element. It appears as though the light switch, where Jackson went from feeling complacent as a role player but now has the pressure of being a team leader.
Jackson is working hard with rookies like Brisker and Kyler Gordon, and even with a new slot such as Tavon Young and Jaylon Johnson only in year three, the voice of the secondary almost has to be Jackson.
It is good to see him take on this role, and the combination of Jackson doing the right things off the field and the potential for him to be used correctly on the field could give fans a taste of the old Eddie Jackson.