Donte Jackson was beaming as he sat in his shiny new white Steelers golf polo shirt.
Jackson joined a team that has expressed interest in him since he entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick out
of LSU in 2018. Jackson was acquired via a trade with the Panthers in which the Steelers sent wide receiver Diontae Johnson and a seventh-round pick for Jackson and a sixth-round pick from Carolina.
Jackson completed a 40-yard sprint in 4.31 seconds in 2018, beating his NFL Scouting Combine mark of 4.32 seconds. Jackson’s performance was witnessed by only two head coaches, including Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who was present at LSU’s pro day in 2018.
Jackson, 28, stated at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Wednesday, “Coach Tomlin, he was on me a lot coming out of college and a lot when I was getting ready to sign my second contract.”
“The Steelers were right there when I inked a second deal with the Panthers. They were there at the most recent trade deadline. And there they are once more. Thus, it seems like it was intended to be. I have so much love and thanks for this organization that words cannot begin to describe how they not only took a risk on me but also made me a guy who they genuinely seemed to desire for years and years. I’m at last able to be present here.
“It seemed to occur at the appropriate time in my opinion. I’ve been giving it my all. I’m simply excited to shock the league by going out there and playing this fantastic defense. I simply cannot wait.”
Jackson, a seven-year veteran of the NFL, played in 80 games over his first six seasons with the Panthers.
Seen as an All-Pro safety in the secondary along with second-year corner Joey Porter Jr., he is a shrewd outside cornerback who weighs 5-10 and 180 pounds. He has 14 career interceptions.
Fitzpatrick and Jackson are not strangers. Fitzpatrick played at Alabama, while Jackson played at LSU. Both players were selected highly in the 2018 NFL Draft and faced off three times.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Minkah since we came in the league,” Jackson stated. We entered the league in the same year and faced off against one another in college for three consecutive years. I’ve therefore always been a Minkah fan. He is a really talented player. His football knowledge is insane. I’m just going out there to be with a guy that, for his running mates and teammates, just makes football simpler. It will be incredible to be able to go out there with one of the league’s top safeties.”
Jackson is expected to contribute to partially making up for the secondary losses suffered by the Steelers. In addition to veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, who was recently released by the Steelers, free agents Levi Wallace and nickel cornerback Chandon Sullivan are also available.
Porter is the only cornerback on the Steelers’ roster who has started a game since then. After seeing Porter during a season in which he finished as a finalist for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jackson has developed a fondness for his style of play.
“I’ve seen a lot of movies about Joey,” Jackson remarked. “I think I could name every play he made in his rookie season. He is quite special. I am extremely excited to witness him up close, walk onto the field with him, and accomplish everything this team deserves from all angles.”
Jackson joined the Panthers as a starter on Day 1. In 2018, he traveled to Pittsburgh with Carolina as a rookie, where he frequently faced off against former Steelers standout Antonio Brown in a 52-21 Pittsburgh triumph.
Jackson was deeply affected by that game.
“I remember being a rookie and coming to Heinz Field for the first time and being just amazed at the heritage and the culture that’s just oozing throughout that stadium,” Jackson recalled. “I recall being astonished by that. When I first saw Big Ben (Roethlisberger) as a rookie, I recall being a little star struck, along with AB and all those players. It’s amazing how much brilliance this team has to offer.”
Jackson played under five different head coaches in six seasons in Carolina. Working with Tomlin and an experienced defensive staff excites him.
Jackson added, “I’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs.” “During the six seasons I was on my last team, there were numerous coaching and personnel changes. It prepares you to come in and just be a part of something like this, in my opinion, to be somewhere like this, where a lot of the roots are already in the ground, a lot of the coaching is the same, a lot of the management is the same, a lot of the training, just that culture.
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