Eddie Jackson (safety)

Eddie Jackson (born December 10, 1993) is an American football free safety for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama.

Eddie Jackson
Eddie Jackson in 2019
No. 39 – Chicago Bears
Position:Free safety
Personal information
Born: (1993-12-10) December 10, 1993
Lauderdale Lakes, Florida
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Boyd H. Anderson
(Lauderdale Lakes, Florida)
College:Alabama
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 4 / Pick: 112
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2019
Total tackles:184
Sacks:2.0
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:5
Interceptions:10
Pass deflections:26
Defensive touchdowns:5
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Jackson attended Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. He played defensive back and wide receiver for the football team. As a senior, he had 37 receptions for 792 yards on offense and 66 tackles and five interceptions on defense. Jackson committed to the University of Alabama to play college football under head coach Nick Saban.[1]

College career

Jackson started his career at Alabama as a cornerback. As a true freshman in 2013, he played in seven games with four starts and had 19 tackles and one interception. Jackson tore his ACL prior to this sophomore season in April 2014 but returned that year to play in 11 games with 10 starts.[2] He recorded 41 tackles, one sack and one interception. Prior to his junior year in 2015, Jackson switched from cornerback to safety.[3][4][5] He played in all 15 games, recording 46 tackles and six interceptions. He was named the Defensive MVP of the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship after recording three tackles and an interception against Clemson in a 45-40 victory.[6][7] Jackson broke his left leg against Texas A&M in the eighth week of the 2016 season, ending his year.[8] He finished his injury-shortened senior season with two punt returns and one interception returned for touchdowns, and was named second team all-conference despite only playing eight games.

Professional career

Coming out of Alabama, Jackson was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be a third round pick. He received an invitation to the NFL Combine, but was unable to perform any physical drills during the entire pre-draft process due to the broken leg he suffered in October. He was ranked the fifth best strong safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[9]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 3⁄8 in
(1.84 m)		 201 lb
(91 kg)		 32 1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		 9 1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 10 reps
All values from NFL Combine

2017

The Chicago Bears selected Jackson in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[10] Jackson was the 13th safety drafted in 2017.

External video
Bears draft Eddie Jackson 112th overall
2017 NFL Draft: Eddie Jackson

On May 15, 2017, the Chicago Bears signed Jackson to a four-year, $3.06 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $665,797.[11]

Throughout training camp, Jackson competed against Adrian Amos and Chris Prosinski to be the starting free safety. Head coach John Fox named Jackson the starting free safety to begin the season.[12]

He made his first career start and professional regular season debut in the Chicago Bears' season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons and recorded three solo tackles during the 23–17 loss. On October 22, 2017, Jackson recorded four solo tackles, deflected a pass, made his first career interception, recovered a fumble, and scored two touchdowns during the Bears' 17–3 victory over the Carolina Panthers. He recovered a fumble by quarterback Cam Newton, on the Panthers' first drive, and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter to mark the first score of his career. During the second quarter, Jackson intercepted a pass attempt thrown by Newton, that was intended for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, and returned it for a 76-yard touchdown.[13][14] He earned the NFC Defensive Player of the Week and became the first player in NFL history with multiple 75-plus-yard defensive touchdowns in the same game.[15][16] On December 10, 2017, Jackson celebrated his 24th birthday and recorded an interception, forced a fumble after stripping the ball from A. J. Green, and recovered it during the Bears' 33–7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.[17] In Week 17, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (five solo) in the Bears' 23–10 loss at the Minnesota Vikings.[18]

He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 73 combined tackles (55 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, two touchdowns, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 16 games and 16 starts.[19]

2018
Jackson in a game against the Seattle Seahawks

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio returned under new Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy. Jackson and Adrian Amos subsequently retained their roles as the starting safeties in 2018. In Week 2, Jackson recorded three solo tackles, one pass deflection, and made his first career sack during a 24–17 win against the Seattle Seahawks. Jackson sacked Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson for a two-yard loss during the second quarter.[20] He recorded interceptions over the next two games off Arizona Cardinals' Sam Bradford (including a pick-six that was called back for an offside penalty) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Ryan Fitzpatrick.[21][22] On November 4, 2018, Jackson recorded six combined tackles and returned a fumble recovery for a 65-yard touchdown during a 41–9 victory at the Buffalo Bills in Week 9.[23] The following week, he collected a season-high six solo tackles and made two pass deflections during a 34–22 win against the Detroit Lions.

On November 18, 2018, Jackson deflected a pass and returned an interception for a 27-yard touchdown in the Bears’ 25–20 victory against the Minnesota Vikings. Jackson intercepted a pass by Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins, that was intended for wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, during the fourth quarter.[24] The following week, he made three solo tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception for a 41-yard touchdown during a 23–16 win against the Detroit Lions.[25] His interception off Matthew Stafford earned the Bears’ a comeback victory and earned Jackson the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.[26] He was also declared the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for his performance during the month.[27]

Against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15, Jackson intercepted Aaron Rodgers to snap Rodgers' record streak without an interception with 402 pass attempts.[28] However, he suffered an ankle injury on the play, forcing him to miss playing time. In his place, Deon Bush started the week 16 game against the San Francisco 49ers.[29] On December 19, 2018, Jackson was named to the 2019 Pro Bowl roster.[30] Jackson was inactive for the last two games due to an ankle injury (Weeks 16–17) and finished the season with 51 combined tackles (41 solo), 15 pass deflections, six interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three touchdowns in 14 games and 14 starts.[19]

He received an overall grade of 93.2 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the best grade among all qualifying safeties.[31] Jackson was also named to first-team All-Pro along with teammates Khalil Mack, Kyle Fuller, and Tarik Cohen.[32]

2019

Jackson made his return from injury in the 2019 season opener against the Green Bay Packers. In the game, Jackson made 2 tackles as the Bears lost 10—3.[33] The following week, the Bears won their first game of the season against the Denver Broncos, during which Jackson recorded 10 tackles.[34] The next game against the Washington Redskins, he recovered a fumble forced by teammate Danny Trevathan in the 31–15 win.[35]

In a Week 9 22–14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Jackson had a team-high 11 tackles.[36] During another loss in week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams, he forced a fumble on running back Todd Gurley II which was recovered by teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.[37]

On Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions, Jackson recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by rookie quarterback David Blough with 30 seconds left in the game, sealing a 24–20 Bears' win.[38] In the following week's game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, Jackson recorded his first sack of the season on Dak Prescott as the Bears won 31–24.[39]

On December 17, Jackson was named to the 2020 Pro Bowl as a starter.[40] In week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Jackson intercepted a pass thrown by Sean Mannion and returned it for 14 yards as time expired to seal a 21–19 Bears' win. [41]

On January 3, 2020, the Bears signed Jackson to a four-year $58.4 million contract extension, making him the highest paid safety in the NFL.[42]

Career statistics

Regular season
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGS CombSoloAstSk PDIntYdsAvgLngTDs FFFRTDs
2017CHI 1616 7355180.0 628241.0761 131
2018CHI 1414 5141101.0 1568113.5412 211
2019CHI 1616 605191.0 52189.0140 110
Career 4646 184147372.0 261018118.1763 452

References
  1. "Four-star cornerback Eddie Jackson commits to Alabama".
  2. "Sources: Bama CB Jackson suffers torn ACL".
  3. "At first surprised by move, Eddie Jackson 'coming along well' at safety".
  4. "Alabama DB Eddie Jackson easing in, making plays at new position".
  5. mburnett@annistonstar.com, Marq Burnett, Star Staff Writer. "Alabama football: Saban says Jackson at safety has 'worked out really well for us'".
  6. "Alabama's O.J. Howard, Eddie Jackson crowned MVPs of CFP title game". January 12, 2016.
  7. "Alabama notes: O.J. Howard, Eddie Jackson earn Player of Game honors".
  8. Miller, Matt. "Eddie Jackson NFL Draft 2017: Scouting Report for Chicago Bears' Pick".
  9. "Eddie Jackson, DS #5 SS, Alabama". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  10. Mayer, Larry (April 29, 2017). "Bears pick Jackson in Round 4". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  11. "Spotrac.com: Eddie Jackson contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  12. "Chicago Bears: depth chart". foxsports.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  13. "NFL Player Profile: Eddie Jackson". NFL.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  14. Dickerson, Jeff (October 23, 2017). "Bears safety Eddie Jackson's historic day occurs on anniversary of injury". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  15. "Bears rookie makes history with long TDs on D".
  16. Lam, Quang M. (October 25, 2017). "Carson Wentz, Amari Cooper among Players of Week". NFL.com.
  17. Kane, Colleen (December 10, 2017). "Eddie Jackson's big day for Bears: 'Best birthday gift you could ask for'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  18. "NFL Player stats: Eddie Jackson (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  19. "NFL Player stats: Eddie Jackson (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  20. Inabinett, Mark (September 17, 2018). "Eddie Jackson helps Chicago Bears show what they learned". The Birmingham News. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  21. Finley, Patrick (September 24, 2018). "Good, bad and best: How the Bears fared in Week 3 vs. Cardinals". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  22. LeGere, Bob (September 30, 2018). "Defense doesn't slow down in rout of Bucs". Daily Herald. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  23. Perez, Bryan (November 4, 2018). "WATCH: Bears safety Eddie Jackson sprints 65 yards for TD". USA Today. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  24. "Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears - November 18th, 2018". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  25. Campbell, Rich (November 18, 2018). "Bears play of the game: Eddie Jackson makes sweet music on decisive pick-six". Chicago Tribune]. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  26. "Philip Rivers, Amari Cooper among Players of the Week". NFL.com. November 28, 2018.
  27. Ellis, Cam (November 29, 2018). "Eddie Jackson named NFC Defensive Player of the Month". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  28. Eurich, Matt (December 16, 2018). "Video: Eddie Jackson intercepts Aaron Rodgers". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  29. Finley, Patrick (December 23, 2018). "Bears-49ers: S Deon Bush to start for injured Eddie Jackson". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  30. "Five Chicago Bears Named To The Pro Bowl". WBBM-TV. December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  31. "Pro Football Focus: Eddie Jackson". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  32. Potash, Mark (January 4, 2019). "Four Bears named first-team All-Pro: Mack, Fuller, Jackson, Cohen". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  33. "Packers D, Aaron Rodgers beat Bears 10-3 in opener". www.espn.com. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  34. "Pineiro's 53-yard field goal lifts Bears past Broncos 16-14". www.espn.com. September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  35. "Trubisky, Bears get offense on track, beat Redskins 31-15". www.espn.com. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  36. "Wentz, Howard lead Eagles past Bears 22-14". www.espn.com. November 3, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  37. "Gurley, Brown help Rams ground out 17-7 win over Bears". www.espn.com. November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  38. "Trubisky's 3rd TD pass lifts Bears to 24-20 win over Lions". www.espn.com. November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  39. "Mitchell Trubisky helps Bears beat Cowboys 31-24". www.espn.com. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  40. Wiederer, Dan (December 17, 2019). "Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Cordarrelle Patterson are named to the Pro Bowl and 3 more Bears are announced as alternates". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  41. "Bears edge Vikings 21-19 on Piñeiro FG with 10 seconds left". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  42. "Bears make Jackson highest-paid safety in NFL". ESPN.com. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
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