Utilizing Next Gen Stats for the 2019 season, NFL.com's Nick Shook has ranked Bears safety Eddie Jackson as the league's fifth-best player in pass coverage.
Key metrics that were used to determine the rankings included passer rating allowed, catch rate allowed below expectation, tight window percentage, target rate and average separation yards. Ballhawk rate and coverage-success rate were also included as supplemental metrics.
Only defenders with at least 300 coverage snaps and 40 targets were considered.
"Jackson doesn't get targeted all that much (43 times in 2019) and his ballhawk rate (9.3 percent) doesn't jump off the screen," Shook wrote, "but quarterbacks are consistently frustrated by his coverage. Look no further than Jackson's passer rating allowed of just 49.9 and his catch rate allowed below expectation of -20.9 percent. That's by far the best mark of any player on this list, and while a lower total of targets has something to do with it, it's still very impressive."
In 2019, Jackson was voted to the Pro Bowl for the second straight season after he recorded 60 tackles and two interceptions, with both picks coming late in games to seal wins over the Lions and Vikings. The 2017 fourth-round pick also registered five tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
In January, Jackson signed a lucrative four-year extension with the Bears through the 2024 season.
