The Pittsburgh Steelers certainly showered cornerback William Jackson III with attention over the course of the last few days as not only did general manager Kevin Colbert, head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive backs coach Carnell Lake all attend his Thursday pro day at the University of Houston, they also had dinner with him Wednesday night. Following his Thursday workout, Jackson talked to the media and said he was thankful to have Tomlin and the Steelers present for it.
“For the head coach to come down here, that’s a big deal,” said Jackson, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I was like, ‘Wow, they’re here to see me.’ It was crazy, I never thought I’d be in that predicament. That was a great atmosphere and a great dinner. It’s a blessing to go from not talked about to talked about.”
After Jackson recorded two interceptions against Florida State in Houston’s bowl game, he then proceeded to run the 40-yard dash at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine in 4.37-seconds. Ever since there’s been talk that he might hear his name called during the first night of the 2016 NFL Draft. With that said, there are still a few believe that he’ll ultimately come off the board in the second round.
One of Jackson’s weaknesses, according to Dave-Thomas of NFL Draft Report, is his play against the run.
“For Jackson III, he was sort of the “Where’s Waldo” when it came to run support,” Thomas wrote recently. “He did not make his first tackle in run support until the seventh game on the 2015 schedule and three of his five tackles vs. ball carriers did not come until the final two appearances on Houston’s 14-game schedule.”
That weakness aside, it’s evident that the Steelers have an interest in Jackson and now it will be interesting to see whether or not they bring him to Pittsburgh next month for a pre-draft visit.
As far as Jackson’s pro day results go, he reportedly decided not run the 40 again on Thursday but did register a 4.32-second time in the pro agility drill and a 6.86-second time in the three-cone drill.
