Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - “I’m Sorry, Mr. Jackson?” — Patriots Reportedly Won’t Tag J.C. Jackson

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New England Patriots are not expected to use the franchise tag to retain cornerbacks J.C. Jackson’s services for the upcoming NFL Season. As a result, the 26-year-old is expected to hit the free agent market, when the league year begins on March 16. Host Mike D’Abate provides his thoughts on Jackson, as well as the Patriots potential depth chart at cornerback.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. You are now locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day,

that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed. Very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast. My name is Mike DeBate. I also cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. You can find me out there on that Twitterverse at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some weekend love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

Pats fans, once again, thank you for joining us here on this weekend episode. And as you can deduce from the intro, we're going to be talking about Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson. His name's been in the news a lot lately and for good reason. J.C. headed for unrestricted free agency pretty soon and perhaps the most notable task on the Patriots docket as they head into free agency is choosing a course of action regarding either re-signing, tagging, or letting J.C. Jackson walk via free agency. And at only 26 years old, J.C. really has the world at his feet right now. He's going to have the option to either sign a long-term deal with New England,

assuming New England offers him one, seek a new home, or get out there on the open market. There is still a possibility that he may be tagged. But at this point, we're not seeing a lot of evidence that that will happen and we'll get back to that in a moment however they do have until March 8th that is this coming Tuesday not a whole lot of time to get a deal done if the Patriots do wish to get JC back in the fold via the franchise tag a lot of people thought that that was the most likely cause of action that really was something that I believed was indeed going to be the case, or at least give him the opportunity to return to the team on a short-term basis and work out something long-term. Free agency begins on March 16th, so obviously the

Patriots are under the gun to get something done, but a lot of the speculation started to churn really last Wednesday when NFL Network's Mike Giardi had a little bit to say about JC's impending free agency and I'm quoting Mike verbatim here folks he says not sure this will surprise but personnel execs I've spoken to here in Indy expect that there will be a robust market for JC Jackson services if the Patriots don't manage to come to an agreement or tag him with the franchise tag at this point he says he's in the prime of his career and he finds the football two things that teams absolutely love in free agent cornerbacks and folks we all knew that this was indeed going to be a possibility you didn't want someone with JC Jackson's prowess the year he had hitting the open market and hitting free agency.

But as the weekend wore on, it looked more and more likely that J.C. Jackson was not going to be back in Foxborough in 2022. Now, I'm cautious right here, folks, and I will say this. Nothing has been decided. J.C. is still very much in the mix of the Patriots plans. There's a chance that he comes back, but right now it looks like he won't be franchise tagged and he'll get a chance to test the open market. NFL Network's Ian Rappaport was the first to report this on Friday, saying that the Patriots were not expected to use the franchise tag to retain Jackson services. As a result, he's going to hit that free agent market again opening

up on March 16th and just to give you an example as to what JC is facing out there in the open market trying to get the best deal he possibly can get it's his most productive season as a pro in 2021 through 17 regular season games 44 solo tackles a league leading 23 passes defensed eight interceptions one of them returned for a touchdown eight interceptions the second most in the nfl only behind dallas cowboys cornerback trayvon diggs with 11 in fact he's got the most interception since entering the nfl in 2018 as a rookie free agent, 25 of them. That's a pretty tall task for anybody to be able to live up to. And again, as an undrafted rookie free agent, he has exceeded expectations and then some. JC had a tremendous season this year. Nobody is arguing that. Elected to his

first Pro Bowl, earning a selection as a second team All-Pro. Really, I mean, just, you know, aside from anything that you're talking about when it comes to JC Jackson and his ability to get the job done on the field, you can't really ask for more than what he brought you this year. I know some of you are going to yell at the device you're listening to this on and say, didn't do such a great job against Stefan Diggs in the playoffs. There have been moments where he's had some breakdowns in coverage, but JC Jackson really is becoming the definition of shut down corner.

And the Patriots certainly have a decision to make when it comes to his services. Aside from most players being averse to the franchise tag, J.C. surprised a lot of people a couple of weeks ago when he came out and said, I'd be willing to play on it. I'm not going to like it, but I'm not going to hold out, which gave a lot of people, I think, in my opinion anyway, at least some optimism that something could be worked out between both sides, that even if the Patriots chose to franchise tag him, they would work out a long-term deal. But apparently, the two sides are far apart enough on a long-term deal where the Patriots don't want to have to commit $17.28 million on a

one-year deal to tag him just for one year and then let him walk away in the subsequent years. That's good business. I can understand where the Patriots are coming from, but it puts them at a disadvantage if they don't have J.C.'s services on the field. Right now, there's not a whole lot on the roster that can carry the load, that can make up for what they'd be losing in J.C. Jackson. And I'm going to get to that in just a moment. But a lot of analysts advised, or really kind of surmised, I guess is the best way to put it, that New England would be a little reticent to use the tag on J.C.

After all, the Patriots are not typically eager to use that tag. They use it a lot more than people will have you believe. Some will come to the conclusion that under Bill Belichick, the Patriots just don't use the tag. Well, no, they've used the tag 10 times in the Bill Belichick era. It's not like they've never used it before. They've only done so twice in the last nine offseason. So as of late, Patriots don't want to really bog themselves down with a heavy loaded contract only to lose the player one year later. Now, if you're looking for a silver lining here, folks, Ian Rappaport indicated that both sides still very willing to work on a deal, trying to reach a long-term agreement,

but Jackson's entrance into the free agent market really seems imminent at this point. And again, like so many have said said mike giardi said it last week a lot of analysts and players have said it jc is really entering his prime he's going to have no shortage of suitors folks he's also going to have no shortage of lucrative offers and that could put the patriots at a disadvantage if the patriots are reluctant to match or exceed the type of offers he's going to get on the open market, then it's looking likely that J.C. Jackson may have indeed played his final game in New England. And if that's indeed the case, it's going to be definitely a tough task for the Patriots to recoup what he gives you on the field

and also to try to rebuild this cornerback core, which actually in 2021 wasn't so bad with JC Jackson at the helm, especially after losing Stefan Gilmore in the previous season. So that means if JC Jackson's not going to be back, folks, the Patriots have to be active in the cornerback market. That includes free agency, and that includes the 2022 NFL draft. Free agency's coming up. We're going to be previewing that a lot over the course of the next week here on Locked On Patriots, and we're also going to delve into the draft and the cornerback options

that are available to them. But today, I thought it would be a good idea if we took a look at what's on the roster right now and what the Patriots could do to try to fill that role. Again, not a whole lot, but the Patriots may be a little bit deeper at corner than some others would have you believe. As the Patriots prepare to head into the league year, let's take a look at their internal options to round out the depth chart at cornerback during the upcoming NFL season when we return in just a moment. But first, folks, you know as well as I do that New Year's resolutions are

difficult to take, and especially now with March. Now on the calendar, it's very, very difficult for everyone to be able to keep all of their New Year's resolutions intact. I know myself, it's very tough, but one of them that I've been able to keep is trying to eat a little bit healthier, especially when it comes to finding some of the sweet treats we know and love thanks to our good friends at Built Bar when you take a look at a candy bar you look at the wrapper you're having second thoughts about having it but you're craving something sweet you're craving a delicious treat 240 calories is the average for a candy bar and some of them are even a lot higher than that. You look at the grams of sugar, 30 of them, dozens of net carbs.

It's just not all that healthy for you. Well, Built Bar has the solution. Not only are they just as delicious, if not more delicious than a candy bar, but they're also much more healthy for you. It makes it a no-brainer. Always reach for a Built Bar. 130 calories on average for Built Bar. 4 grams of sugar, 4 net carbs, and 17 grams of protein. And the flavors that they have, folks, are second to none. Mint brownie, coconut almond, peanut butter brownie, my personal favorite,

excuse me, and new for this month, white chocolate cookies and cream. And that one's going quickly. Check out the Built.com website. You want to make sure that you take cream and that one's going quickly check out the built.com website you want to make sure that you take advantage of that one before it's gone the built puffs amazing you just love every single one of them that you try they always go for the taste first and if they think a flavor is going to be good they're going to make it and it'll be delicious and it'll be good for you at built they're all about the taste they make it taste delicious first then they figure out how to make it healthy. I don't know how they do it, but they do it and they pull it off every single time.

So go to Bilt.com, use the promo code LOCK15, and get 15% off your order. Use the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And thank you for joining me here today on the pod. And in the previous segment, we talked a lot about JC Jackson. We ran down about the year that he had in 2021 and possibility that JC may have played his final game in New England.

And I know it's something we don't want to acknowledge but it is indeed the case and although we're going to be getting into some of the free agent options and some of the draft options that are available right now for the Patriots to try to replace JC Jackson which is not going to be an easy task I thought it would be good today to go over some of the internal options that the Patriots have on the field. Some of the players that they have on roster right now that will be back in 2022 that might help to be able to shoulder the load. So if JC Jackson is in fact gone, all eyes are going to turn to Jalen Mills. And contrary to popular belief, I know you'll hear

a lot of people that are going to tell you that Jalen isn't up to the challenge. He had a very good season in 2021. There's no question about it. He was effective in his role, almost exclusively played the role of the second option at outside corner. And that's not really why he was brought here to New England. If we're being honest, he evolved really into a defensive back that was capable of aligning in so many different ways he could line up in the slot he could play the perimeter ultimately i think the patriots wanted to use him as a hybrid safety type cornerback that could switch back and forth uh when jonathan jones went down the ideal thing would have been to have slid jalen mills into that position but jalen was already playing the opposite cornerback because Stephon Gilmore never played it down for New England in 2021 and because of that a lot more

was put on Mills shoulders and he really became the option at second uh you know second fiddle I should say at perimeter corner and after the trade of Stephon Gilmore Mills became the team's primary option he really and truly did. Unless he was called upon to be the primary option at the position, he was absolutely effective in this role. Throughout all of the 2021 season, 47 total tackles, 35 of which were solo tackles, by the way. He had a tackle for a loss, seven passes defensed.

He took 913 defensive snaps. He finished third on the team in that category, only behind JC Jackson and safety Devin McCourty. Now we've all seen the social media posts from Jalen Mills lately. He's working out. He's highly motivated to build on the great season that he had in 2021. Is he a perfect player? Absolutely not. Is he a solid number one? I think the Patriots would probably think he's a better number two than a number one. But if you have to go into the 2021 season, or I should say 2022, with Jalen Mills as your number one option, you could probably be doing worse. I'm a little skeptical as to whether or not he'll be able to carry the load for the full

year. I think the Patriots would like to get someone in that would handle those duties right off the bat. But if you're talking through the draft and Jalen Mills is going to have to be the guy, the Patriots are probably not going to put that type of pressure on a draft pick, no matter how high they choose to take a cornerback. At this point, you're probably looking at a lot of Jalen Mills in 2022 if JC Jackson is not there and that's not necessarily a bad things folk look bottom line I think the Patriots right now are going to do everything they can to fortify the position but Jalen Mills does look like a good option and I think he will be a good option the reason why I think he'll be a good option is because Jonathan Jones

Patriots prolific slot corner, is scheduled to return. And since joining the Patriots in 2016, Jones has emerged as New England's top slot cornerback, and they missed him a lot in 2021 after the season-ending shoulder surgery. It was his sixth season with the team last year. He only saw action in 54% of New England's defensive snaps over the first six weeks. He compiled 20 tackles during that time, one interception, three passes defense. And, you know, he really, he's proven to be effective when he's healthy in both the nickel and the dime packages. And he just, he's able to adjust well when defending against so many different alignments. He's at his best when used

in the slot. That's how the Patriots will employ him in 2022, but he is capable of moving to the box or even playing on the perimeter. So if the Patriots are very thin because of the fact that Jonathan Jones has such a great knowledge of the Patriots defensive system, don't be a bit surprised to see him play in the box around the perimeter a little bit more. I don't think it's ideal, but it's something you might end up seeing. Bottom line, if he does have to do that, he's capable of playing in a lot of different alignments. And unfortunately, like we said, the season-ending surgery to his shoulder prematurely ended

his season in 2021. He was starting to make great strides and being able to settle into his role. But I think he's made substantial progress as a player throughout each of his years. And I, for one, would be very comfortable seeing a lot of Jonathan Jones at the cornerback position in 2022 for the New England Patriots. A lot of you are probably wondering about the shoulder surgery and how he's recuperating. Obviously, we've heard reports that Jones is making progress. He's doing well in that area.

Seems to be making substantial headway in terms of getting healthier, making sure the shoulder is strong enough for training camp, OTA. I don't expect him to be delayed. I think he'll be ready to go right off the bat. And if that's the case, then he'll be definitely a big part of the Patriots' plans once they start their off-season workout program. So keep your eye on Jonathan Jones. He could play a very big role for the Patriots in this upcoming season. The next player I want to talk about is a guy that was mentioned an awful lot, had a lot of responsibility put on his shoulders, and maybe not a lot of people thought that he would have that type of responsibility, and that's Miles Bryant.

After Jonathan Jones went down, Miles became your primary option in the slot, and he really did, I think, a very admirable job of filling in filling in hard hitting this is a guy that definitely is not afraid to get in there mix it up we've seen him do that several times he plays a versatile role with the patriots because he can be deployed in so many different ways but the fact of the matter is is that if he does have to align in the slot if jones is going to take some perimeter snaps, that gives you two corners that have a solid knowledge of the Patriots system. And I think that puts them at an advantage, maybe not the advantage that they'll have with someone like JC Jackson in the lineup, but it's not going to be the catastrophic death knell that I think a lot of you are expecting. Some of you may think I'm trying to put you know a positive spin on this or maybe be too positive but I'm just trying to give you a background folks that New England is not necessarily

at the disadvantage that you may think they are if they lose JC services and Brian is one of the guys that really excites me and I love what I see from him continuously I think he provided a lot of versatility to the backfield in 2021. He saw most of his snaps in the slot, but he can align as a third safety in the past three safety sets. We saw him do that as well in 2021. So because the primary focus was on him in the slot, it allowed him to align a little bit differently. And especially if the Patriots are going to have a little bit more clarity on who their number one and number two corners are going to be Jonathan Jones if he's not a number two or a perimeter alignment and he goes back into the slot then that allows Miles to be that versatile piece that you can use all throughout the secondary his arguably one of his best performances

of 2021 came against the Buffalo Bills and And I think everybody is looking at that. And I'm not talking about the playoffs. I'm not even talking about the game here at Gillette. I'm talking about up in Orchard Park in Western New York. The wind's whipping through. Miles coming up. A big game for the Patriots. And I thought he came to play and played very well.

Really did a great job of shutting down Cole Beasley. He held Beasley to not only one reception for 11 yards, but he made the play of the game. If you remember that game correctly, it was Miles Bryant that was able to make the play, get in, making a heads-up read on Josh Allen. He made the move to Allen's intended receiver, Gabriel Davis, batting the ball down, securing the victory.

And at this point, it was something that I think a lot of people realize that Miles Bryant can be an effective cornerback in this system in week 17 against the Jags he got his second career interception he earned a game ball that week for his efforts obviously catching the eye of Bill Belichick and the defensive brain trust so you know there are a lot of things to like about Miles Bryant, and I like what he brings to the table. Compiled 41 tackles, one sack, one forced fumbles through 12 games played, and he made two starts in the slot this season. I really look for him at this point to be someone that the Patriots can rely on. Is he a number one or a number two corner? No, and I don't

think he's at that level yet, even in 2022, but they can rely on him to be a very solid contributor to this team moving forward. The next player is someone that I think has gotten a little bit of a bum rap, and a lot of that is because of the play he's put out on the field, but there is still, I think, a level of prowess we've yet to see from Jawan Williams. And obviously, I know a lot of people are going to roll their eyes or groan when you hear Jawan's name, but this was a second round pick for the Patriots in 2019. And there is still second round talent lurking somewhere in there. Maybe I'm wrong, but I do believe that it's there. I've watched him in practice. I've watched the effort that he puts out. And I think Jawan is willing to work and try to be the type of corner that the Patriots may need him to make.

Unfortunately, he's yet to make that mark. And I know that's why a lot of you are uneasy when it comes to Juwan Williams this year, but I think there's still a lot of value. He's got a great deal of size, pretty good athleticism. He's ideally best used when he's a rotational perimeter and slot corner especially against the taller pass catchers he's been used in a specialized role as well even during training camp especially 2021 training camp we saw him align a lot against tight ends and maybe that is his niche maybe that's where he's most comfortable aligning against the tight end or maybe even a bigger receiver but i think he's done better aligning against the tight end or maybe even a bigger receiver. But I think he's done better against those guys than against, you know, different type of receivers that he'd see on the perimeter.

But he does give the opportunity to be able to guard an array of different types of receivers. He also comes with a great risk. I think he's really yet to emerge as a match with the Patriots type of press coverage schemes that they love to employ. And because of that, that's why you don't see him that much on the field. But despite being a healthy scratch following some dismal performances in 2021, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it, folks, they have been dismal. But Williams may be the Patriots' most physical option at the position heading into 2022, assuming that they don't make any type of wowing moves either in free agency or through the draft.

And again, I expect them to make both, but let's just say this is where they are. Williams is really your most physical corner at this point. He's had some unsteady moments in coverage, and I think that is a big part of the reason why so many people are leery about him getting a major role, especially players or teams, I should say coaches, in the locker room, not players, but coaches in the locker room may be a little reticent to give him that type of responsibility, but I think he can be a reliable depth solution for the Patriots heading into this upcoming season. Their pass defense might be at a significant disadvantage with Williams over there as opposed to someone like a JC Jackson.

But if he can flash some of that talent that the Patriots saw in the 2019 draft, he might get a bigger role this year. So if you do see Joanne Williams get a lot of snaps, especially in preseason, you'll know why the Patriots are trying to pick his brain and see what he's able to put out there on the field last but certainly not least a name that you'll hear an awful lot throughout the draft process throughout free agency and really throughout training camp and all of the uh you know off-season workout programs is going to be Sean Wade and the Patriots spent capital to be able to bring in wade last year via trade with the baltimore ravens wade really i think is the definition of potential versus

performance he doesn't have a lot on his resume right now he missed a good amount of time in 2021 due to injury being a healthy scratch and of course he also had to stay on coven 19 reserve but i look at his time during ohio at at Ohio State and I look at this time and I say to myself that this is someone that the Patriots targeted because of what he can do and his time at Ohio State told me a lot he was a pretty big time prospect at Ohio State even viewed as a potential first round pick while playing out of the slot for the Ohio State Buckeyes in his final season with Ohio State he was moved from the slot to the Ohio State Buckeyes. In his final season with Ohio State, he was moved from the slot to the outside corner position, and I think this changed a little bit of how he was

perceived. Along with the fact that he played much of the year with turf toe, weight stock dropped a little bit, and that allowed Baltimore to be able to swoop in. He wasn't necessarily the same type of player that we've seen in years past. However, he's at his best when he's aggressive at the catch point. He can show an ability to read his opponent, and that's something the Patriots love in their cornerbacks. Someone that can be aggressive at the point of attack, but also can make the reads necessary to not only run the routes with the receiver, but also be able to anticipate what the quarterback and the pass catcher have on their plate. Wade did that well at Ohio State. I look for the Patriots to try to utilize that, and with a full year under his belt, and maybe a full offseason program under his belt, he should receive plenty of attention, and I think he's going to get and I look at the players we just ran down,

I think Jalen Mills is definitely someone they'll lean very heavily on. Jonathan Jones may be probably the most important guy in this locker room in the cornerback position if JC is not retained. And then last but certainly not least, Sean Wade is my wild card right now. And I look at him as someone that can come in and make an impact and maybe even carve out a starting role someday Miles Bryant I think he can be excellent in the slot I think he can be very good as a depth piece and I think he'll continue to do that my thought process is if you're looking at an odd man out here unless the Patriots really need bodies Joanne Williams might end up being the odd man out but again if you see him in New England this year it's because the

Patriots see something in him. That type of second round draft talent that they used just two years ago, I think is something that they'll want to be able to utilize and at least try to get everything that they can before they cut bait in that area. So at the end of the day, folks, it's going to be a tough road to replace JC Jackson.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail. I'm still holding out hope the way all of you are that J.C. returns to New England. But from what I'm hearing and from what you're all hearing, which is really the same thing I'm hearing as well, it doesn't look good for the New England Patriots and J.C. Jackson to work something out prior to his hitting the open market. What will this mean for free agency? What will it mean for the draft? Well, those are all topics that we'll continue to discuss here on the Locked On Patriots

podcast. And again, folks, I thank you so much for joining me here today on this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube. In the meantime, please continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you

next time on Locked on Patriots.