How J.C. Jackson Brought ‘New Attitude’ To Patriots’ Reloaded Defense

Three weeks ago, the Patriots’ cornerback group looked barren.

After losing star rookie Christian Gonzalez to what proved to be a season-ending shoulder injury, New England was forced to play the final three quarters of its Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys with its fifth- and sixth-string outside corners (Myles Bryant and Shaun Wade). Despite admirable efforts from both, the Patriots were blown out 38-3, the start of a tailspin from which they only recently recovered.

The Patriots have missed Gonzalez, who looked like a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate before his injury, and will for the rest of the season. They’ll also miss the multi-talented Marcus Jones, who, it was revealed Tuesday, will be sidelined until 2024 with a similar shoulder ailment.

But as the midway point of the ’23 campaign approaches and New England looks to make a push back toward respectability, its outlook at that important position isn’t so bleak.

Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones both are back from the injuries that kept them out for four and six games, respectively, and the Patriots made a much-needed midseason addition when they swung a trade for old friend J.C. Jackson.

It cost the Patriots next to nothing to acquire Jackson, who spent his first four seasons with New England and was second-team All-Pro in 2021. The Los Angeles Chargers, desperate to get rid of him after he went from big-money free agent signing to healthy scratch in a span of 18 months, asked for only a swap of late-round 2025 draft picks and agreed to pay nearly all of Jackson’s remaining 2023 salary.

Three games into his second stint, that low-risk bet is paying off. Jackson hasn’t been the interception magnet he was from 2018-21, when he led the league in that category, but he quickly rose to the top of New England’s depth chart. He was on the field for 96% of defensive snaps over the last two games and played a key role in limiting star receivers Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs.

“That was great to get my guy back,” Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino said Tuesday in a video conference. “I love J.C. I missed him while he’s been gone. But it’s been good. The guys are working hard. J.C.’s brought a different energy to the room on working hard and getting ready to go for practice and stuff like that, so that’s been really good. I’ve been really impressed with his new attitude, pushing himself, pushing everybody to play better.”

That “new attitude” comment suggests Jackson is taking a different approach after his free-agency flop. But Pellegrino said he’s seen “no real change” from the ball-hawking 27-year-old.

“He’s always been a guy that loves to work,” Pellegrino said. “I’m out there at practice and have two seconds to myself, and he’s like, ‘Mike, let’s go do something.’ … He always wants to do extra work. He’s out there 10 minutes before practice starts, working on his footwork with me. He does a great job of trying to stay on top of his craft.”

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Pellegrino, who started coaching Patriots corners ahead of Jackson’s second season, said the latter didn’t have much trouble reacclimating to New England’s defensive scheme. Jackson practiced just twice before making his debut against New Orleans in Week 5 and was back to being an every-down player the following week.

“I made this joke before about it: I would hope that I scarred it into his brain enough while he was here on some of the stuff that we’ve talked about,” Pellegrino said. “He’s done a really good job of just catching up on some of the new things and some of the techniques that may be different or some of the coverage calls that may be different. He’s done a really good job trying to lock in and really bring the attention to detail.”

Jackson’s arrival and immediate impact helped the Patriots maintain their impressive track record against elite receivers. Despite their myriad cornerback injuries, they’ve held the opponent’s No. 1 wideout below his season average in all seven games thus far:

A.J. Brown, Week 1: 10 targets, seven catches, 79 yards
Tyreek Hill, Week 2: nine targets, five catches, 40 yards, touchdown
Garrett Wilson, Week 3: nine targets, five catches, 48 yards
CeeDee Lamb, Week 4: six targets, four catches, 36 yards, touchdown
Chris Olave, Week 5: five targets, two catches, 12 yards
Davante Adams, Week 6: five targets, two catches, 29 yards
Stefon Diggs, Week 7: 12 targets, six catches, 58 yards, touchdown

Jackson notched an end-zone pass breakup against Diggs — who typically dominates the Patriots — during Sunday’s upset win over Buffalo. He also missed a tackle on Diggs’ 25-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. This week, he’ll have a chance at revenge against a Miami Dolphins team that torched him back in Week 1.

Hill racked up 11 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns in that game, including a deep-ball touchdown against Jackson. Whether Jackson, the Joneses, Myles Bryant and New England’s deep safety group can slow Miami’s high-powered offense will be one of the top storylines leading into this must-win matchup for the Patriots.