Care to know a piece of trivia may shock you? The Chicago Bears have 28 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Of those who played most of their careers at one position (12), a total of seven played on defense. Ready for the wild part? Not a single one of them was a defensive back. Three were defensive ends and the other four were linebackers. In 100 years of history, no pure DB has ever received a gold jacket. Eddie Jackson may finally break that streak
The Bears have had some phenomenal secondary players in their history. Safeties like Richie Petitbon and Gary Fencik. Cornerbacks like Charles Tillman and Donnell Woolford. Yet none of them have made the Hall of Fame. The odds are they never will. Jackson though is different. He looks and feels like something special.
Nobody has ever turned the fate of football games like Jackson has through his first two seasons. His two pick-sixes against Minnesota and Detroit were proof enough of that. Not to mention his division-clinching interception of Aaron Rodgers against Green Bay. The guy changes games. Fencik and Petitbon, for all their brilliance, weren't the ones doing that most of the time.
Eddie Jackson is one step away from being the best safety in football
Deshea Townsend had a front row seat for seeing some of the best ever play safety. He was teammates with Troy Polamalu for years in Pittsburgh. He also saw Ed Reed do his thing with the Baltimore Ravens twice and sometimes three times a year. So when he says Jackson can be at their level, it's a big deal. He told Pro Football Weekly and others as much.
"The next step for Jackson is just to see how good he can be," Townsend said. "To be a totally physical player. Not just ball skills. How can he take his game to the next level mentally as well? He’s sharp. He’s smart. The next step is making all the calls, lining everybody up in the right place but then just being that dominant presence that he is. Eddie, there’s not many holes that you can talk about. When you talk to him, you can see he can be one of the greatest ever."
Jackson's numbers through two seasons are pretty crazy. He already has eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, and five defensive touchdowns. All of that in just 30 games. His reputation has begun to establish itself. Quarterbacks are warier than ever of his presence. Not that they can do much about it since they'll be too busy dodging Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks.
If Jackson maintains this pace for another 8-9 seasons, his Hall of Fame credentials will likely be in place. Especially if he can get a ring during that span.
