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The idea of the Cincinnati Bengals swatting away trade offers from other teams about cornerback William Jackson is a plus for the direction Zac Taylor has the team going.
Jackson wasn’t great last year. The front office could’ve easily given up on him. Instead, they reportedly turned down multiple trade offers at the deadline.
And that’s great for many reasons. Other teams probably weren’t giving the Bengals good offers on Jackson. He’s entering the final year of his deal and struggled alongside the rest of the defense last year.
More importantly, Jackson’s “bad” season last year wasn’t so terrible. He only let up 39 completions on 67 targets (58.2 percent) with three touchdowns over 14 games. He played through an injury, was adapting to a new scheme and coaching staff and the rest of the roster around him wasn’t so hot either.
It still wasn’t too long ago the former first-round pick exploded onto the scene with a 90.2 grade at PFF as a rookie. There’s nothing to say Jackson can’t reach those heights again — especially as he’s playing in a contract year.
Even if Jackson doesn’t get a second deal and plays average next season, it would end up being well worth the attempt on such a high-end prospect. He’s also one of the only corners carrying over from last season as he’ll play alongside two new starters in Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander.
It’s one thing to criticize the Bengals for not trading Andy Dalton at last year’s deadline. Dre Kirkpatrick too. The team knew those guys were gone — so did fans. Not getting any value was a massive whiff. But even if the team decides Jackson is gone, they have plenty of time to move him. The gamble is on another chance he again realizes the upside and the Bengals have a No. 1 corner.
That’s the sort of direction the Bengals need right now. Massive upside at a low cost is a must. Simply giving away talent just to do so doesn’t work. It would’ve been nice if the Bengals hadn’t leaned into that idea so hard with veterans like Dalton and Kirkpatrick, sure.
But Jackson is worth keeping for 2020 based on the grit last year, never mind the upside at a premium position.
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