Green Bay Packers: 3 takeaways from their 51-34 win over Pittsburgh Steelers

2. Josh Jackson is a natural born playmaker

Not only did Josh Jackson return his first career interception for a touchdown, but he also followed it up a few drives later with a 41-yard punt return. The Iowa corner’s ball-hawking skills were highly touted entering the NFL but he rarely received praise for his return abilities.

In college, Jackson returned only five punts for a total of 36 yards averaging 7.2 yards per attempt. He has gotten a few reps as the punt returner during practice, however, not much has been said of that facet of his game. Quinten Rollins who fielded punts last week also returned two punts against the Steelers for an average of 17.5 yards. With Jackson now in the mix, Rollins may have more competition for those duties than just wide receiver Trevor Davis.

After a slow start in camp, Jackson has regained his footing and is starting to show why he was regarded as a first-round talent in more ways than just his coverage capability.

“Josh did a lot of good things in the OTAs,” McCarthy said of his second-rounder. “We’re asking a lot of him (because) we want to make sure we are giving all these guys a chance to play and try to have roles for them in whatever defensive personnel that we’re in so they have the ability to come in as rookies and learn multiple positions and be productive. I thought he had a nice return too.”