2018 NFL Draft: Film Review of new Carolina Panthers defensive back Donte Jackson

Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said before the draft that adding speed was a priority at wide receiver and in the secondary. After drafting D.J Moore in the first round, Carolina addressed the secondary by drafting LSU defensive back Donte Jackson in the second round.

Jackson’s 4.32 40 speed immediately stands out, but he tested well in the explosive drills too. He posted a 37 inch vertical and 10.33 inch broad. His SPARQ testing was in the 68.6th percentile.

LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda utilized Jackson’s versatility all over the secondary. Jackson’s best work came in the slot. According to PFF, Jackson allowed no touchdowns and a passer rating of 50.7 from this position. According to Seth Galina of SB Nation’s And The Valley Shook, Aranda played a ton of man coverage last year. LSU would have their safeties lined up two deep prior to the snap, but one would eventually rotate to cover the slot in man coverage. While watching Jackson’s film, I noticed he was primarily tasked with executing this assignment.

With that said, Hurney envisions Jackson rotating between outside and inside.

“We talk about intermixing skill sets, well now we have a guy like Donte, we have Kevon who can run, we have the big corners with Bradberry and Ross Cockrell – a bunch of guys,” Hurney said. “We have created a lot of competition at that spot.”

As an outside corner, Jackson allowed two touchdowns and an 80.7 passer rating. For a better idea of his strengths, flaws, and fit let’s dive into Jackson’s film.

Instincts/anticipation

You would prefer a good-sized cornerback, but fortunately they have come in all sizes. Some of the best coverage men have been extremely small and dwarfed by their wide receivers and still were able to cover because of quickness, explosion and anticipation.

These are the traits hall of fame coach Bill Walsh searches for in cornerback prospects. Jackson has all three traits, but in man and zone his anticipation to pick up on route concepts stand out.

Jackson rotates into the slot to match with 2nd round wide receiver Christian Kirk. Kirk runs a short hitch route, but Jackson picks up on the route and immediately tackles the receiver to limit any yards after the catch.

Jackson is lined up as the deep middle third safety. Arkansas is running a version of a hi-lo hitch concept. The slot receiver breaks his route at 10 yards. but Jackson anticipates the route just before the quarterback winds up. He sinks his hips and accelerates quickly to break up the pass.

Jackson lines up in the slot to the trips side. LSU is in zone coverage, so Jackson has to keep his eyes on the quarterback before the snap. He reads the eyes while also glancing at the route development. Jackson shows off all three of Walsh’s traits on this play. He anticipates the route, quickly breaks on the ball, and explodes to land a clean hit.

Ball skills

Donte Jackson only had one interception in 2017, but he displayed strong ball skills.

While the cliche about cornerbacks having poor hands is somewhat accurate, there should still be expectations to come down with easy interceptions. Towards the end of the Auburn game, Jackson had an opportunity to run back a pick six. He dropped a clean ball.

Despite his poor hands, Jackson did come down with a special interception against Texas A&M. He gets matched up with Christian Kirk. Jackson flips his hips from inside to outside leverage before jumping in front of the throw. This is where his athleticism shows up.

Once the quarterback begins his scramble, Jackson is quick to accelerate to stay within arm’s length of the receiver. Here’s where his ball skills show up. He high points the ball while running at full speed.

Jackson is in the slot, but he’s playing outside leverage in zone coverage. He reads the route, breaks, and makes a clean play on the ball. The interception production isn’t there, but if he’s preventing big plays that’s good enough for now.

Why his height shouldn’t worry you

Donte Jackson’s size was a question mark according to many draft analysts. I was worried about his frame too, but my concerns were alleviated after watching his film.

Panthers regional scout Jeff Beathard told Panthers.com how Jackson compensates for his lack of size.

“He does a lot to overcome his size with how competitive he is,” Beathard explained. “He’s a tough kid. He’s aggressive, he’ll come downhill on run fits, he doesn’t shy away. He’ll compete to get off blocks. With a kid his size, he’s got to do those things to show you he can play at this level.

Jackson’s performance against Ole Miss stood out in this regard. For much of the game he was facing A.J Brown who is expected to be one of the best wide receiver prospects in the 2019 class. Ole Miss’ athletics website has Brown listed at 6’1 225 pounds, so he is certainly no slouch.

Jackson doesn’t interfere with Brown, but uses his length to break on the pass. Brown is physically bigger and stronger, but Jackson is a fierce competitor.

Jackson has inside leverage against Brown. Brown runs a deep corner route, but Jackson stays patient on his feet to continue carrying the route. The quarterback throws a jump ball and Jackson challenges Brown at the catch point.

Jackson doesn’t allow Brown to separate when he extends his arm to stem towards the sideline. Jackson stays within the hip pocket of the receiver and then shows his strength to play through the ball to force a pass breakup.

Footwork at top of routes

One area where Jackson has to improve is to read the footwork of receivers. He gets caught off balance when he’s force to quickly change direction. Jackson didn’t complete any agility drills at the combine or his pro day, so the tape is the only way to rely on this trait.

Jackson matches with Calvin Ridley. Ridley starts his route inside. He drops his weight to sell his route before cutting outside. As a result Jackson gets caught off balance. He gets fortunate that the quarterback doesn’t target Ridley.

Christian Kirk exposed Jackson’s footwork on these two routes. The first route is a double move, which causes Jackson to commit underneath. Kirk explodes past him, but Jackson does recover. The damage is already done as that half step allows Kirk to haul in the long reception. The second route has Kirk use an outside jab step outside the hash before stemming downfield on a post. The outside step causes Jackson to get off balance.

Fit on the Panthers defense

Jackson has experience at safety, slot corner, and outside corner, but I anticipate him being used primarily at corner. I expect the Panthers to continue to install more pattern matching concepts within their zone schemes. Jackson won’t be asked to man up on Mike Evans, Michael Thomas, or Julio Jones. He has the instincts, speed, and competitiveness to match with slot and Z wide receivers like DeSean Jackson, Mohamed Sanu, and Ted Ginn.

He has to clean up his footwork at the top of routes and come down with easy interceptions, but his toughness will compensate for his lack of size. I graded Jackson as a day 1 starter. The Panthers did well to grab him in the 2nd round.