Through the first eight weeks of the 2022 season, only the New Orleans Saints had played more man coverage than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin’s defense had arrayed its secondary in Cover-0, Cover-1, and 2-Man on 116 opponent attempts this season, per Sports Info Solutions. And in those man coverage situations, they’ve allowed 66 catches for a league-high 1,046 yards, seven touchdowns, four interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 92.8.
So, when you want to play a lot of man coverage, and you’re not very good at it, the best thing to do is to get a cornerback who is very good at it. That’s what Pittsburgh did with the acquisition via trade with the Washington Commanders for William Jackson III.
Both sides were looking for a fresh start and now William Jackson III gets it in Pittsburgh. The two sides are going over some language, but this trade is expected to get done. Washington ends up with draft comp after all. https://t.co/Zusl4JcImQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 1, 2022
Jackson, the former Bengals star who signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract with Washington in 2021, has been lost in whatever it is that Jack Del Rio has been doing with that defense.
But if you want to see the difference between Jackson in man and Jackson in zone, let’s look at two deep passes from Cooper Rush to CeeDee Lamb in Washington’s 25-10 Week 4 loss to the Cowboys.
The first play happened with 7:10 left in the game, and Jackson and Lamb at the bottom of the screen, Washington was in Cover-1, and Jackson was in press. He followed Lamb all the way through the vertical route downfield, and deflected the pass.
The vertical route that Jackson allowed to Lamb happened at the start of the fourth quarter. Here, the Commanders were in Cover-3, Jackson did goodness knows what at the end of his off-coverage rep, and Lamb had one of the easiest touchdowns he’ll ever get.
As the Steelers showed on the negative side against the Eagles last Sunday, they want to play aggressive man coverage. They have not had the horses to do it. But with the acquisition of Jackson, that dream comes a few steps closer to actual reality.