Donte Jackson: New Member of the Carolina Panthers
By Sam Corkey
At 55th overall, the Carolina Panthers had their choice between a plethora of defensive backs, most notably Justin Reid, Ronnie Harrison, and Isiah Oliver. They came away with Donte Jackson…
“With the 55th pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers select Donte Jackson, cornerback, LSU.” I have to admit, this surprised me, especially after all of the pre-draft hype about Justin Reid going at 24th overall.
In 2017, Jackson had a solid 45 total tackles with 3.5 for loss and one sack. He added nine pass deflections and one interception. In 2016, Jackson’s sophomore season, he had 39 total tackles with eight defended passes and two interceptions.
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Jackson’s draft stock rose after a blazing 4.32 40 yard dash at the combine. With the Panthers looking to get faster, Marty Hurney has done a great job adding speedsters D.J. Moore and Donte Jackson.
Jackson was a high school track star, winning state titles in both the 100 and the 200. In addition, he helped the Tigers track team win conference titles in the 4×100 relay. In 2017, Jackson was voted second-team all-conference by SEC coaches for his ball abilities.
Jackson confirms Panthers have talked to him about playing outside corner. Yes, nickel is also an option.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) April 28, 2018
Jackson will compete at nickel and outside corner, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to be a starter come Week 1. Obviously, the Panthers corners have been put on notice and players like Corn Elder are in danger of missing the cut at the position.
Next: Panthers NFL Draft: D.J. Moore is better than Calvin Ridley
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So, the Panthers added a solid player at a position of need, who also happened to be one of the best players available. Nice job, Marty; this pick will go a long way towards bringing us, the Carolina Panthers, back to the Super Bowl this year and in the future.