Seahawks CB Mike Jackson Excelling During Offseason: 'Dominant!'
The Seattle Seahawks have a bounty of riches in the secondary, featuring several young players brimming with potential.
At cornerback, there's No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon, 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist Tariq Woolen and fellow second-year player Coby Bryant. At safety, there's two Pro Bowlers in Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, plus free-agency pickup Julian Love. Many teams would kill to have the talent and depth the Seahawks have in the defensive backfield.
And yet, fifth-year cornerback Michael Jackson, who has largely flown under the radar, has been the one thriving throughout training camp the most. In fact, coach Pete Carroll said Jackson has had "the best camp of anybody."
"He had a great camp," Carroll said. "He stepped up to the challenge of it, had just a really productive, almost a dominant camp for us. That was great to see that, we need it."
Before coming to Seattle, Jackson was a journeyman bouncing around the league. He was a fifth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 NFL Draft, but stayed on their practice squad and never played a game for them. He was also a member of the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots in 2019 and 2020, respectively, but only played one game with each team. Even in his first season in Seattle in 2021, Jackson played just two games and had only two tackles.
That all changed last season. Preseason injuries in the secondary forced the Seahawks to turn to Jackson, and he took the opportunity and ran. He started all 17 games for Seattle, notching 75 tackles, 12 passes defended and an interception. Now, the 25-year-old corner is carrying that strong play into the offseason and putting on a show.
"Mike challenged whenever he could, all of the techniques, all of the stuff we asked him to do," Carroll said. "Playing on both sides, he played some inside stuff too. But he just—his confidence is really at an all-time high for him. And I know that when he saw Tariq go down, it was important for him to step up so that we felt secure, we'd be OK, we could carry on.
"He just rose to this camp, and really, through all the weeks he's been great. He's ready to play."
The Seahawks have had a knack for finding diamonds in the rough recently, and Jackson seems to be the latest example.
You can find Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News
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