The Pittsburgh Steelers have liked CB Donte Jackson for a long time, which they made clear after trading for him. They particularly covet his coverage skills, which is not exactly a surprise given the position he plays. According to Pro Football Focus, he was among the best in the league in one particular area.
Specifically, Jackson ranked fifth in the NFL last season among starting cornerbacks in man-coverage grade. The only cornerbacks who rated higher than him were Tariq Woolen, Sauce Gardner, Jamel Dean, and Trent McDuffie.
Notably, the Steelers’ other projected starter, Joey Porter Jr., ranked 39th under the same conditions. Porter saw significantly more man-coverage snaps at a higher rate, though. Porter saw man coverage 32.6 percent of the time for 184 snaps. Conversely, Jackson only played man 13.2 percent of the time for 66 snaps. Woolen only played 67 man-coverage snaps as the highest-rated man-coverage cornerback.
Due to injuries, Jackson did not play enough snaps to qualify in the previous three seasons. Back in 2019, however, he had among PFF’s worst man-coverage grades, 69th out of 75. Lowering the snap threshold, he graded even worse in 2020, but ranked middling in 2021. He ranked again near the bottom in 2022, an injury-shortened season.
In other words, Jackson’s performance as a man-coverage corner last season sticks out compared to the rest of his career. But this all assumes that PFF grades mean much of anything, and we know how that goes. I don’t think many will say that Jackson played better than Porter last year, for example.
But the Steelers like the skill set that Jackson brings, something defensive coordinator Teryl Austin talked about earlier this month. They did give up a starting wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, in order to get him, though. They need him to offer at least as much value as he cost them.
Was Donte Jackson one of the best cornerbacks in man coverage last year? Well, that all depends on whom you ask, but I doubt any one person watched every coverage snap. There are generalizations that you have to make when it comes to these things.
As far as Jackson goes, he does have the skill set to play man coverage at a high level. He has the speed, quickness, fluidity, and ball skills that you want. His problem has been staying focused, probably, more than anything, and perhaps not trusting his eyes enough.
I’m sure the Steelers coaches hope to train some of those negative qualities out of him. Jackson has a tendency to bite on double moves, for example, and to take unwise gambles. Playing within the structure of the Steelers’ defense, with this pass rush, they can help mitigate those concerns.
