Just because the Chicago Bears filled a pair of starting cornerback spots via free agency doesn’t mean the team is done filling holes in the secondary.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweets that the Bears are hosting Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson on a visit today. Jackson represents one of the 30 official visits where college prospects will meet with team coaches, front office executives, and scouts. These pre-draft visits are a catch-all for teams rounding up information on top prospects. Information drawn from these visits can be used on draft weekend or down the line when a player hits free agency. Just keep that in mind as we keep track of the prospects who find themselves connected to the Bears in the coming days and weeks.
Jackson is one of the draft’s top cornerback prospects who has the ideal size (6-1, 192 pounds) and showed off tremendous ball skills with eight interceptions for the Hawkeyes last season. He earned unanimous All-American honors, secured the Jack Tatum Trophy (given annually to college football’s best defensive back), was named to the All-Big Ten first team, and was the conference’s Defensive Back of the Year in 2017.
He also came away with the interception of the year in Iowa’s monumental upset of Ohio State:
Jackson isn’t a perfect prospect. He has just 14 starts under his belt and could be viewed as a one-year wonder. (Wow. That almost sounds like one of the knocks against Mitch Trubisky coming into the draft last season. Trippy.)
Jackson also didn’t run all that great at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, posting an official time of 4.56 seconds in 40-yard dash. Had Jackson’s unofficial time of 4.49 seconds stood, scouts would be having a different conversation about the Iowa standout. As it stands, he is still one of the top prospects at his position and still owns a first-round grade.
The Bears have a top-10 pick and play in a division with three Pro Bowl quarterbacks. So while the team has needs along both sides of the line of scrimmage, we shouldn’t lose sight of its holes in the secondary.