When he signed with the Eagles this offseason, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson brought with him a resume that included 97 career games, 82 starts, four interceptions and 61 pass breakups across eight seasons since being drafted in the first round by the Tennessee Titans.
The thought process was that Jackson could be an insurance policy for Kelee Ringo, a promising third-year prospect picked in the fourth round of the 2023 draft who has only played 311 career snaps.
But listening to Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on Tuesday, you’d think Jackson was the young hopeful entering his make-or-break contract season.
Fangio, in his pre-practice press conference at the NovaCare Complex, said it’s time for Jackson “to show who he is, or who he isn’t.”
“I think it’s time for him to show that,” the typically candid defensive coordinator said. “In Tennessee, when it came time to re-sign him after his contract was up, they didn’t. The Giants, his contract was up, they didn’t. It’s time to show who he is or who he isn’t.’
That’s an interesting, and very straightforward, viewpoint on a veteran who almost surely has more days behind him than ahead.
By NFL standards, Jackson isn’t a spring chicken. He’ll turn 30 in September, and by that point, most defensive backs of his caliber aren’t signing one-year deals and competing for starting jobs; they’re either entrenched with their respective team like Darius Slay was with the Eagles, or exchanging the shorts and shells for drivers and five-irons.
Even more bizarre is that Fangio said he didn’t watch any tape of Jackson before Howie Roseman, the Eagles’ chief roster architect, signed him, saying he’d “seen him throughout the years” and “when he was coming out of college" at USC.
Remarks like those are probably why Jackson, on Saturday, said Fangio reminded him of legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who finished his brilliant 29-year career as a defensive coordinator and head coach in Tennessee, when Jackson was a rookie.
LeBeau was always known as a straight-shooter whose track record – he won two Super Bowls as Steelers DC – and presence instantly commanded attention.
“When he speaks, everybody listens,” Jackson said of LeBeau, comparing him to Fangio. “You can feel that. You can see that.”
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But don’t mistake Fangio’s viewpoint on Jackson as unfavorable. It’s the opposite, actually.
Even though Fangio believes Jackson has yet to fulfill his true potential, he’s also clearly favoring the veteran over Ringo at training camp, as Jackson had taken far more first-team reps than Ringo going into Tuesday’s first practice in pads.
On Monday, Jackson showcased his savvy with a successful pass defense on a go route from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown that caused the ball to sail downfield, far from its target. Jackson later supplied good coverage against Terrace Marshall, sticking in the receiver’s hip to make sure a back-shoulder throw wasn’t completed.
As our Jimmy Kempski has noted, Jackson is outplaying Ringo early in the camp competition.
“Yeah, you know, the first few days out here he was kinda like he didn’t know he was out here, the ball wasn’t going his way at all,” Fangio observed. “And then [Monday] he had a coupe balls thrown at his way and he did very well. He had a very good day [Monday].
"It’s too early to say what his experience is or isn’t right now. He’s played a good bit of ball, but I think this is the place where he’s got to show who he is and be the player hopefully that people have always thought he could be.”
That sounds like Fangio believes Jackson, even at this stage of the corner's career, can be more than just an insurance policy if Ringo doesn’t get up to speed.
Sounds like Jackson could be the replacement for Slay, which would essentially be one savvy veteran who’s seen it all taking over for another.
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