As Donte Jackson walked off the field after Monday’s practice, he and DJ Moore were doing the same thing they do when they’re matched up against each other on the field – they were talking.
Moore, with a big smile on his face, was feeding Jackson exactly what to say about the wide receiver when reporters inevitably asked about the matchups between Jackson and the wideout he came into the league with – “great competitor, a guy who likes to go at it everyday, he’s really good with the ball in his hands.”
But Jackson also had some adjectives to describe himself.
“Loudmouth, competitor… a guy [that’s] crazy fast,” said Jackson. “A dog – someone that wants to win every rep.”
Jackson had a lot to say last season – and after his rookie campaign, don’t expect Jackson to quiet down. As a matter of fact, Jackson has been even more vocal during training camp this summer as he is more confident in himself than a season ago. Jackson is so optimistic that he has pretty lofty goals for the 2019 season.
“I’m trying to go for seven, eight picks, a whole lot of pass break ups and wins,” Jackson said after practice on Monday. “A whole lot of wins.”
After his rookie season, there’s no reason to believe Jackson can’t obtain those high goals.
In 2018, Jackson started all 16 games as he recorded a team-high four interceptions along with seven pass breakups and was one of eight players in NFL history to record three interceptions in his first three career games. But as was shown during the Amazon Prime Video Series, “All or Nothing”, Jackson was frustrated at times. Jackson’s lowest point likely came during the Panthers’ 52-21 loss to the Steelers on Thursday Night Football – but Jackson wasn’t pleased with the way he was portrayed.
“I just felt like they had a lot of moments that they caught of me being myself – the natural jolly, great teammate. But they just chose to put out stuff that isn’t me,” Jackson said on the first night of training camp. “I’m not sitting here saying there was somebody else playing me for those moments.”
“I wore a mic every other day. There were a lot of moments they could have put on there. They chose that little split moment of me being mad and frustrated, which a lot of guys were in that locker room when we weren’t winning many games…”
“For them to put that out there like I’m a jerk, I just wasn’t feeling it.”
The way that @allornothingtv portrayed me is actually the exact opposite of what I really am, that was a tough season, I wasn’t the only guy in that building tired of losing!
— Donte Action Jackson (@_DJack01) July 20, 2019
Jackson believes he is a different player than how he was portrayed – and has grown as he comes into his sophomore season in the league.
“Coming [in and] having a year under your belt, the game has kind of slowed down for me,” Jackson said. “My teammates on the defense, they expect a lot out of me in Year 2, so a lot of pressure – but not bad pressure. Really, just get out here every day and have fun. I was kind of down on myself a lot as a rookie coming into camp if I didn’t have good days. This year, it is more about having fun and taking advantage of every day.”
During Monday’s practice, Jackson was able to bring down an interception off a deflected pass off of tight end Greg Olsen, not a surprising turn of events as Jackson’s hands was one of the things he worked on during the offseason – Coach Rivera has put an emphasis on securing turnovers in the defensive backfield when the quarterback makes a mistake.
“I just did a whole lot of craft work,” Jackson said. “A lot of craft work [because] typically when I’m tired, my technique slips a little bit. So, watching that on the film of my rookie year, that is something that was huge this offseason just trying to get a lot of workload in when I’m tired.”
Jackson looks forward to playing next to Tre Boston – from one “loudmouth guy” to another – he knows that there’s something to learn from veterans, especially veterans that have been to the Super Bowl, like Boston was in 2015 during his first stint with the Panthers.
“You like to have a guy that talks the same amount as you, if not more,” Jackson said about Boston, who signed less than a week ago but is expected to take over the starting free safety role. “He’s been a good asset, he’s a leader – he has been on a successful team that went to the Super Bowl, so he knows what it takes. With a young group, you need to have someone that knows what it takes to play in that last game.”
On Thursday, the Panthers will begin their preseason schedule against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Although he likely won’t play a lot, Jackson says that there is still a lot for the Panthers to learn about their team – and about their new defensive scheme.
“Their defense has a lot of stars, a few Pro Bowl players, a few top 100 players,” Jackson said. “So our offense is going to… show the world they’re electrifying. Defensively, we just have to focus on getting everything right. We are still working on some loose screws with this new defense.”
“But for the most part, we are going to challenge ourselves.”
