Adoree' Jackson has shown dominance on the outside
The Giants made another big splash in free agency this week, adding cornerback Adoree' Jackson to the team's deep secondary.
Jackson played only three games (two starts) in 2020 after a knee injury suffered at the start of the season landed him on injured reserve. However, the corner showed more than enough in his first three seasons to explain the team's decision to invest in the talented 25-year-old.
Jackson was one of the most consistent outside cornerbacks from 2017-2019. Across those three campaigns, Jackson earned Pro Football Focus’ eighth-highest grade in outside coverage (85.0) while registering 29 pass breakups.
Since entering the league in 2017, Jackson has been targeted 51 times on passes 20+ yards downfield. Among those 51 targets, he allowed 14 receptions while racking up 18 forced incompletions, the second-most in the NFL.
In addition, Jackson's 17.4 percent forced incompletion rate in 11 games during the 2019 campaign ranked 12th in the league. He surrendered just one touchdown on 390 coverage snaps that season.
Jackson has registered 200 tackles (176 solo), six tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and 33 passes defensed in 46 career games (41 starts). He has also contributed on special teams, returning 27 kickoffs for 601 yards (22.3 avg.) and 53 punts for 464 yards (8.8 avg.).
Jackson is likely to start on the outside opposite Pro Bowler James Bradberry. Joining those two in the Giants' secondary are Logan Ryan, Jabrill Peppers, Xavier McKinney, Darnay Holmes, and Julian Love, just to name a few.
Adoree' Jackson already feels at home with Giants
Adoree’ Jackson has yet to be assigned a locker, but he is already at home in the Giants' locker room.
Jackson, a talented and speedy cornerback, joined the Giants yesterday, less than a week after he was released by the Tennessee Titans. But unlike many players who change addresses, he need not be apprehensive about how he'll be accepted by his new teammates, because he's already close to some of them.
Cornerback Darnay Holmes was a fellow high school star in Southern California who reached out to Jackson last week. One defensive tackle, Leonard Williams, was his teammate for one season at USC, while another, Austin Johnson, played with him for three seasons in Tennessee. So did safety Logan Ryan, the first person to reach out to Jackson when he was cut. Ryan traveled from his Florida home to the metropolitan area to share a dinner with Jackson and help entice him to join the Giants. The other starting safety, Jabrill Peppers, did so over the phone.
"It meant a lot really to just have people reach out and be able to pick their brains and see what they're like, about the team and what they dislike maybe, but everybody spoke highly of it," Jackson said today on his introductory Zoom call. "It was just great to have people want me to come here. Probably getting recruited, some kids in college they probably shied away from that and didn't really want to recruit, but these guys were on it. I know (Peppers) hit me up and so it was one of those things where it just felt good."
That familiarity will make his transition easier when the team gathers for the first time, whether it's in the spring or training camp, in person or virtually.
"Being able to know a lot of people, it just makes you more comfortable and it's easier to hold each other accountable because you won't be shy to hurt somebody's feelings. They know how you act, you know how they act, you're just able to be cohesive and not bump heads when you're out there. So being able to just learn, pick peoples' brains and just compete. And that's the fun thing knowing Pep, I like (safety Xavier) McKinney's game, I love Darnay, (cornerback James) Bradberry, so it's just going to be a bunch of competition out there amongst us out there on the back end. I'm just excited about that, to be able to know some guys, just feel like I'm not coming into new faces and got to introduce myself – some people I do – but it's just going to be a more comfortable feeling."
Highlights: See Adoree' Jackson in action
Check out the video below to watch highlights of new Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson in action.
