Tag: Donte Jackson

Panthers 2020 training camp: 4 takeaways from Tuesday’s practice

Panthers 2020 training camp: 4 takeaways from Tuesday’s practice.

The Panthers have finished another training camp practice. Today’s session was another 11-on-11 heavy program.

Here are four takeaways from the media.

Kaare Vedvik takes all the punts

Rookie punter Joseph Charlton has demonstrated a powerful leg at camp. However, he’s had a couple oh-boy moments by booting two punts over the side wall. Last week, the team added former Bills punter Kaare Vedvik off waivers. Today, he took all of the punts.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Vedvik will be taking the job and Charlton will get cut. It’s only one day and there’s still time for either to prove themselves. Charlton was still holding for Joey Slye in warmups.

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Panthers Highlights: 2 cornerbacks make plays at training camp

Panthers Highlights: 2 cornerbacks make plays at training camp.

Cornerback remains arguably the most problematic position on the Panthers roster going into 2020. With only a couple of weeks left before the season begins at home against the Raiders, the team needs their young corners to step up and shorten their learning curve.

On Friday, the team shared two highlights on Twitter of cornerbacks breaking up passes at practice.

Stantley Thomas-Oliver III

First, Carolina’s seventh-round pick, FIU’s Thomas-Oliver broke up this ball from P.J. Walker that was intended for Ishmael Hyman.

Donte Jackson

Later, the team shared this PBU by Jackson on a pass by Will Grier meant for Brandon Zylstra.

Depending on how things go, there’s a chance these two could be the starting outside cornerbacks at some point this season.

It’s rare for seventh-round picks to start, but Thomas-Oliver may have a legitimate opportunity if either Eli Apple or fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr. struggle or get injured.

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Panthers Highlights: D.J. Moore, Donte Jackson make plays at first ‘full-speed’ practice

First, D.J. Moore scored a touchdown against Donte Jackson on a pass from Teddy Bridgewater.

The Carolina Panthers moved one step closer to real football on Friday, participating in their first “full-speed” practice of training camp according to coach Matt Rhule, who says he was pleased with how things went.

Afterwards, the team shared a couple of highlights from the practice session on Twitter. First, D.J. Moore scored a touchdown against Donte Jackson on a pass from Teddy Bridgewater.

Jackson answered with this pass breakup on a ball intended for Robby Anderson, which may or may not have been pass interference.

Good cornerbacks tend to ride the line between pass interference and tight coverage, so we’ll give this round to Jackson, even if it appears he may have had his arm around Anderson a little bit before the ball got there.

We should be getting more clips from camp soon. The media will be allowed in to watch practice for the first time on Sunday.

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Ryan Clark: Donte Jackson ‘worked his butt off all offseason’

Recognizing that you have a problem is always the first step towards recovery.

Donte Jackson is entering his third year with the Carolina Panthers, which is always a critical season for an NFL cornerback. After a promising rookie campaign, Jackson regressed in some areas in 2019 and eventually found himself on the sidelines near the end of the season.

To his credit, Jackson has admitted that he needed to upgrade his game. With that in mind, Jackson spent this offseason working with former Steelers Pro Bowler safety Ryan Clark, now an analyst for ESPN and a trainer for defensive backs. Clark says Jackson worked his butt off and he can’t wait to see him ball.

The lowest moment for Jackson before he was benched may have been his showing against the Seahawks, when he was repeatedly beat by both Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf in coverage. Clark says his mentorship with Jackson got started when Jackson reached out to him after that game and asked Clark to critique his performance, per the team website.

“Maybe around the Seattle game, he reached out to me because we have a good relationship, and he asked me to watch it. . . I went back, watched it for him, critiqued it, talked about it. We discussed it. After that, he said, ‘Man, I’m gonna see you as soon as the offseason starts.”

Recognizing that you have a problem is always the first step towards recovery.

Receivers like Lockett and Antonio Brown are going to get the better of even very good cornerbacks from time to time. If Jackson is going to stick around in the NFL, he’ll need to cut down on those “teaching moment” type games and the mental errors that accompany them.

Learning from Clark is a positive sign. There are also examples Jackson can follow that are currently in the league. Marcus Peters went through a similar rough period early in his career. While enormously talented like Jackson, Peters developed a tendency to gamble on routes and attempt to make big plays instead of playing discplined coverage.

Coaching made a huge difference for Peters, who allowed a 111.0 passer rating with the Rams in 2018 and only a 63.4 rating in 10 games with the Ravens last season. Hopefully it can do the same for Jackson.

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4 Panthers players Matt Rhule complimented in his virtual press conference

Coach Matt Rhule offers compliments on four Carolina Panthers players in a virtual press conference.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule held another virtual press conference with the media on Thursday. Rhule projected confidence about his team, despite the extraoardinary set of circumstances that have brought a young and inexperienced group of players into what was always going to be a challenging 2020 training camp.

Rhule likes what he has, though. Here are a few players he singled out for praise during his Zoom call.

DE Efe Obada

The roster Rhule has inherited is missing a lot of pieces. At the edge, he’s down Mario Addison, Bruce Irvin and Christian Miller. Even still, this team has a lot of depth at this spot.

Rhule raved about Obada, who has apparently gained 10 pounds this offseason.

This appears to be a trend with Panthers defensive ends. Brian Burns told reporters earlier this week he’s gained 15 pounds since last season.

CB Donte Jackson

Rhule also singled out another imporant young defender: third-year cornerback Donte Jackson.

The Panthers are rolling into the 2020 season with the youngest defense in the NFL over the last 10 years, according to ESPN. That means players like Jackson will be thrust into a leadership role. Rhule likes Jackson’s competitiveness and expects consistency.

Jackson knows he has work to do on his own game, though. He says he put in work with Ryan Clark this offseason to improve his technique and coverage.

TE Chris Manhertz

The Panthers took a big hit at tight end by losing Greg Olsen. They do have one of the game’s best blockers at the position, though. Rhule singled out Manhertz for that talent.

Manhertz projects as the No. 2 tight end on the roster behind Ian Thomas.

QB Teddy Bridgewater

Finally, Rhule praised his starting quarterback, who is by all accounts fun to be around. He sees Bridgewater as a pure football guy.

Bridgewater’s personality has clearly won over his teammates and his head coach. He still will have to prove himself on the field to seal the deal, though.

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Donte Jackson says Panthers lining up rookie CB Troy Pride Jr. at multiple spots

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said some interesting things during his Zoom call with the media today.

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said some interesting things during his Zoom call with the media today.

For one thing, he’s taken on a leadership role in the cornerback room. As for his own game, Jackson says he worked with Ryan Clark this offseason to improve his technique and coverage.

Jackson also gave us our first hint at what might be happening at the slot position that was vacated by Javien Elliott. He says the team has been lining up fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr. at multiple positions.

Pride mostly played outside cornerback at Notre Dame. However, he’s undersized to play the same role in the NFL, particularly in a division that has three of the game’s best big receivers in Julio Jones, Michael Thomas and Mike Evans.

Pride might be better suited to defend the slot, where most of the league has typically lined up smaller receivers. Trends change, though. To name a few, Jared Cook, Allen Robinson and Keenan Allen have produced a great deal of offense from the slot position in recent years and all three are on the schedule this season, not to mention Rob Gronkowski.

Either way, one idea we should get used to is not assigning fixed roles for Carolina’s defenders as much as in the past.

Defensive coordinator Phil Snow and coach Matt Rhule have both made it clear they love positionless players on this side of the ball. Young and versatile talents like Pride, Jeremy Chinn and Brian Burns will all move around.

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Who is the best bounce-back candidate for the Panthers in 2020?

The current Panthers roster is an odd mix of rookies, rising young stars and veterans with something to prove after having a rough season in 2019.

The current Panthers roster is an odd mix of rookies, rising young stars and veterans with something to prove after having a rough season in 2019.

One of those vets looking for a turnaround is left tackle Russell Okung, who has been named by Pro Football Focus as the team’s top bounce-back candidate this coming season, per ESPN. PFF mentions Okung’s health issues, but also cites a career-low grade last year.

“A pulmonary embolism due to blood clots in his lungs limited Okung to six games in 2019, but he still produced the worst PFF grade of his career in that span. His run blocking was the key driver in the dip in play; he ended the regular season with a 56.4 run-block grade that ranked 55th among 89 qualifying players at the position and was by far the lowest mark of his NFL career.”

We see where PFF is going, but there are better candidates.

The first name that comes to mind is cornerback Donte Jackson, who suffered a regression in 2019 after a promising rookie year. Jackson remains extraordinarily fast and athletic. However, he has developed a habit of gambling in order to make big plays and opposing teams have taken advantage. Last season, Jackson allowed five touchdowns in coverage and a 103.2 passer rating. He also missed too many tackles. PFF took note, giving Jackson a 55.6 overall grade for the season. Jackson’s future could still be bright based on his physical gifts. Remember, there was a time when Marcus Peters went through a similar phase early in his career, and he’s since become one of the top 10 corners in the league.

Another quality candidate is the guy who may start on the other side, former Saints cornerback Eli Apple. He only gave up two touchdowns in 2019, but his passer rating when targeted was 100.9, a significant bump from the previous season. While PFF appreciated his run defense, Apple only got a 63.8 rating for the year. He’s in a similar situation as Jackson. With the right coaching, both could turn their careers around.

The best potential bounce-back player on the Panthers this year though is their starting center, Matt Paradis. He signed a three-year deal with Carolina last March and was supposed to offer a smooth transition into the post-Ryan Kalil era. Unfortunately, Paradis had a brutal 2019 season in pass protection. In the end, he earned a 43.8 pass blocking grade from PFF, bringing his overall grade down to 63.4 overall.

Part of Paradis’ issues may have been due to the fractured fibula he suffered the previous year. Sometimes it takes more than a season to fully recover from that kind of serious leg injury. The continually revolving door at left guard didn’t help Paradis, either. If he’s able to return to form in 2020, it will be a huge boost for Carolina’s entire offense. When healthy, Paradis has been one of the highest-ranked centers in PFF’s grading in the past.

Let’s open this up to a vote. Who do you think is this year’s top bounce-back candidate?

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Vikings pass on Mike Hughes, take Donte Jackson in 2018 redraft

Hughes actually finished with a better Pro Football Focus grade than Jackson in 2019.

In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Vikings took cornerback Mike Hughes with the 30th overall pick.

While Hughes has been solid when he’s been on the field, he’s never really seemed to get into a groove with the Vikings.

In 2020, he’ll have no choice. Without Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, Hughes is the favorite to be the top cornerback on the depth chart.

If the Vikings could do it again, would they still draft Hughes?

Zone Coverage’s Luke Inman says no.

Inman has the Vikings drafting cornerback Donte Jackson who was originally drafted 55th overall by the Carolina Panthers.

Here’s what Inman wrote about the pick and comparing Hughes to Jackson:

Put me in the minority if you’d like, but Hughes’ best football is still ahead of him. When healthy he has gotten better and better under Mike Zimmer’s tutelage. However, when compared side by side, Jackson has been the better playmaker with freaky speed and a knack for the big play after leading all second-year players with seven interceptions. While I fully expect Hughes to be Zimmer’s No. 1 corner in 2020, in a redo scenario Jackson’s ability to lock up offenses’ best wideouts is too good to pass up now that you know what you’re getting.

In 2019, Hughes finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 58.7, a mark that ranked 78th among corners in the NFL. Jackson ranked 89th with a grade of 55.6.

You can check out Inman’s full redraft here.

Donte Jackson gets highest speed rating among CBs in ‘Madden 21’

According to ESPN, Jackson has been given the highest speed rating (96) among cornerbacks in the latest edition of the Madden franchise.

Donte Jackson had a tough 2019 season. After struggling in coverage too often, he wound up getting benched the last two games after publicly falling out with Panthers interim coach Perry Fewell. Jackson remains an exceptional athlete with a lot of potential, though. One thing you can’t take away from him is that he’s still one of the fastest players in the entire league.

According to ESPN, Jackson has been given the highest speed rating (96) among cornerbacks in the latest edition of the Madden franchise.

It may seem like centuries ago given the way 2020 has gone, but at the combine Jackson ran a 4.32 second 40-yard dash. He also finished in second place in the 40-yard dash tournament last year.

If defensive coordinator Phil Snow and cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper can get Jackson to play with a little more discipline, he could still go on to have a very successful NFL career.

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What’s the worst-case scenario for the Panthers in 2020?

If the team suffers serious injuries or gets unlucky, they can certainly lose more than six games.

The Panthers aren’t going to be a playoff contender this year, assuming there is a season. Our prediction is that the team will go 6-10, which will probably put them in last place in the NFC South again but also keep them out of the running for the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL draft.

Things can get worse, though. If the team suffers serious injuries or gets unlucky, they can certainly lose more than six games.

According to Pro Football Focus, their worst-case scenario for Carolina has them going 4-12 this season, thanks mostly to glaring issues in coverage at the cornerback and linebacker positions. Here’s what they had to say about this possibility.

“The defense just can’t stop anyone. Donte Jackson (55.6 overall grade in 2019) and Eli Apple (63.8 overall grade in 2019), with little in the way of depth behind them, get picked apart by some of the league’s best wide receivers in the NFC South. There is a glaring Luke Kuechly-sized hole in the middle of the field, as well ─ something that can’t be filled by Tahir Whitehead and his 14 receiving touchdowns allowed since 2018 (six more than any other linebacker).”

On the other hand, their best-case scenario has the Panthers going 9-7, powered by a breakout year from D.J. Moore and solid contributions from the other wide receivers with Teddy Bridgewater and Joe Brady running the show.

If that’s going to happen, they’ll need their new-look offensive line to exceed expectations and Phil Snow will have to show some true schematic genius.

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