Buy Or Sell: CB Donte Jackson will be a multi-year starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Explanation: The Steelers sent WR Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for CB Donte Jackson. A player they reportedly coveted, Jackson has 14 interceptions in 76 career starts. He is in the final year of his contract at age 28, however, and is coming off a down year. Jackson suffered a significant groin injury in 2022 and his play in 2023 reflected that, his first season without an interception.
Buy:
This is a defense that allowed Antwon Blake and Levi Wallace to start for entire seasons. Of course there’s a more than reasonable chance that Donte Jackson can make a multi-year run in Pittsburgh. All that he really needs to do is be reasonable about his contract expectations.
Jackson signed a three-year deal with the Panthers worth roughly $12 million per season in 2022. Entering the final year of that extension, he already took a pay cut to come here. In other words, he knows that he’s no longer at the top of his market.
And he showed even last season that he can still play decently well enough to be a starter. Will he make some plays that get on your nerves from time to time? Yeah, I’m sure he will. But he can also straight cover better than anybody not named Joey Porter Jr. who’s been on the roster the past few years. You can find room for guys like that, especially when you don’t have anybody else.
Sell:
But who says the Steelers won’t have anybody else besides Donte Jackson? They have been exploring cornerbacks with a first-round pedigree in this month’s draft. Don’t be surprised if they land one at least by the end of Day 2, and they’ll want him starting.
Jackson took less money to come here, but so did Allen Robinson II, and that didn’t help him keep his job. They already moved on from Patrick Peterson after just one year. This front office has already displayed a willingness to move on from something that isn’t working.
They don’t need to have their alternative to make the move. They’ll find a move to make to accommodate for the move they feel they need to make. And Jackson is going to show his warts this year, both in run support and in allowing big plays. He’s going to be a source of headaches.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
