Green Bay Packers: Josh Jackson Making Noise Early on in Camp

It’s now or never for Josh Jackson in his third season with the Green Bay Packers, but he is off to a nice start early on in training camp.

The first two seasons of Josh Jackson’s NFL career with the Green Bay Packers have not gone how anyone would have hoped for the former second-round pick.

As a rookie in 2018, Jackson would make 10 starts and take his lumps along the way. According to Pro Football Focus, that season, Jackson was targeted 66 times and allowed a completion rate of nearly 67 percent with four touchdowns and quarterbacks had a passer rating of 112.7 when throwing his direction.

On top of that, he also tied for the team lead in penalties. However, what we didn’t see was an interception, which was his calling card that final year at Iowa.

But in Jackson’s defense, as a rookie transitioning from a zone-heavy defense to man, some of this should have been expected. Except, his 2019 season was even worse.

An injury in training camp derailed Jackson’s season as he went tumbling down the depth chart. Once it was all said and done, Jackson played less than 10 percent of the Green Bay Packers’ total defensive snaps, and when he was on the field, he was still picked on by opposing quarterbacks.

Now entering Year 3, it’s a crucial season for Jackson, but he appears to be off to a very solid start in practice.

Unfortunately, fans aren’t allowed at training camp practices this year given the new COVID-19 protocols, but the reporters have done an excellent job of keeping everyone informed via Twitter as well as afterward. And when it comes to Jackson, in just about every practice so far, he’s broken up a pass or two.

I had the opportunity to ask Andy Herman of Packer Report his thoughts on what he’s seen from Jackson up to this point, and he had this to say:

"“Jackson’s had a really nice start to training camp. After getting beat on a deep ball to open up camp against MVS – Jackson has had two impressive practices in a row. On Tuesday he had a nice pass breakup vs. EQ in one-on-ones, had sticky coverage versus Jake Kumerow, then ended practice with a near pick of Rodgers.On Wednesday Jackson had perfect coverage on EQ in team drills, breaking up a pass and almost having an opportunity at another interception. This is a huge season for Jackson and he seems to be doing everything he can to make sure it’s his best season yet.”"

While the Green Bay Packers’ cornerback room isn’t lacking high-end talent or confidence, there are some questions around the unit’s overall depth. Once we get past Jaire Alexander and Kevin King, Chandon Sullivan still has to prove that he can handle full-time duties – which I think he can, but nonetheless, he still has to prove it – and then there is Jackson who has struggled, along with several other players with minimal NFL experience.

Yes, I’m aware it’s only been a few practices, and we shouldn’t overreact as Jackson has to continue to play this way through the rest of training camp and into the regular season. However, he is someone who could provide this already stout secondary a boost in 2020 if he is able to build off of his early performances in these first few practices.

We all know the talent is there, now let’s see if he can put it all together.