Eddie Jackson has fast become one of the best young safeties in the NFL. It’s taken the national media longer than most to figure that out. It wasn’t until his excellent game against Minnesota on Sunday Night Football that people were made aware of him. Chicago Bears fans everywhere have known he was special for a long time. GM Ryan Pace though has them all beat. He knew it over a year ago.
Yet do enough people remember exactly how it all went down? They should because it may have been one of the best lowkey moves Pace has made not just in his tenure with the Bears but by any GM in at least the past 5-10 years. In order to help explain how and why? One must go back to where it all started on a warm afternoon down south.
October 22nd, 2016: Eddie Jackson breaks his leg vs. Texas A&M
Coming into the 2016 college season, Jackson’s stock was on the rise. He’d collected six interceptions the year before including one in the national championship game that helped Alabama to win the title. Through seven games, he was up to his usual tricks with an interception and two punt return touchdowns.
Then in the eighth game, a big one against rival Texas A&M, he broke his leg during a punt return. The Crimson Tide soldiered on without him, but some teammates admit he was missed. Especially in the national championship game where this time they lost to Clemson. The worst part about all of it was the timing.
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Jackson was a senior and it was just a couple months before he would’ve started preparing for the NFL draft. With his leg out of action, he wouldn’t be able to anything physical. Teams would see him as damaged goods.
February 28th, 2017: Misses most of the scouting combine
Nowhere did it become clearer how much the injury hurt him than at the scouting combine. The only thing he was able to do was the bench press, which was not a drill meant for safeties. He was rarely talked about at all, and subsequent scouting reports from draft experts began to paint him in the same light: brittle and one-dimensional.
“Former cornerback-turned-safety with decent instincts and good ball skills but a finesse mentality as a tackler relative to those around him. Jackson’s background in man coverage and his ability to return punts should create some additional value for him, but he’ll be pressed into much more difficult situations in the league. Jackson is an average NFL backup with immediate punt return possibilities.”
People became focused on guys like Jamal Adams, Malik Hooker, and Budda Baker. The best safeties in the draft. Jackson was an afterthought. One round went by. Then two. Then three. It wasn’t until the start of the third day that Pace couldn’t stand around anymore.
April 29th, 2017: Bears trade 6th to Rams to move up in the 4th round for him
This is the part people always forget. The Bears held two picks in the 4th round at the start of the action. Their highest sat at #117. As things got started, Pace noticed that Jackson was still on the board. No doubt he was hoping against hope that the safety might slip to them, but that changed at pick #111 when the Seattle Seahawks took safety Tedric Thompson.
Pace knew that the Los Angeles Chargers, who picked at #113 needed safety help. Jackson was about to fall into their lap. So he decided to pounce first. He called up Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead at pick #112 and offered him a 6th rounder to swap spots. Snead accepted and the Bears snuck into the spot to grab Jackson.
Want to know why it was such a brilliant move? The Chargers took Miami safety Rayshawn Jenkins on the next pick. Pace had played the board perfectly and secured the long sought-after centerfielder safety the Bears had been searching for. A few months later Jackson’s leg was healed and he was the starting free safety on defense. He finished the year with 70 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two defensive touchdowns.
This year? He already has three interceptions and two defensive touchdowns and is streaking towards the Pro Bowl. Hell of a job, Mr. Pace.
