Drift back in time two years to summer 2023. A joint practice at the TCO Performance Center between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans.

It was a noisy day on the practice fields, and the fans were hollering about Brian Flores’ defense. One Tennessee staffer, watching from the sideline, made note of a play from a defensive back.

“Is that Theo Jackson?” the staffer asked. A nod. Yes, Jackson, a safety, had just ranged from deep and deflected a pass. The Titans staffer winced. “We did not want to lose him,” they said. “At all.“

Jackson, a Nashville native and Tennessee Volunteers alumnus, had been a celebrated sixth-round pick for the local team the year before. His explosiveness metrics from the NFL Draft process weren’t eye-popping, but he had size, versatility, intriguing ball skills and enough speed.

A training camp injury slowed his momentum, then the Titans cut him. They thought they’d be able to stash him on the practice squad.

They thought wrong.

The Vikings swooped in, plucking him for their 53-man roster. They wanted insurance after selecting safety Lewis Cine in the first round, and defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones quickly recognized Minnesota had found something you’re not supposed to find: a starter amid the scrap heap.

“It’s rare in this profession to love the person and the player,” Jones said recently. “Usually, it’s one or the other. Not with Theo.”

Theo Jackson gets an INT and secures the Vikings W 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/efzYGKzo5G

— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) May 7, 2025

Despite how prevalent this feeling is among the Vikings staff and players, Jackson remains largely unheralded. Almost anonymous, even. It’s fair in a sense. The 26-year-old has played only 222 defensive snaps since he arrived from Tennessee. But he’s currently preparing for an increased role in what might be one of the NFL’s best defenses. Jones described Jackson’s track for 2025 as something similar to the uptick in Josh Metellus’ defensive involvement that began two years ago.

“There’s a lot of similarities there,” Jones said. “Josh had his opportunities in 2023 and kind of changed the path and trajectory of his career. You see that same thing with Theo.”

The Vikings lost Cam Bynum in free agency to the Indianapolis Colts, and Jackson, Metellus and Harrison Smith compose the trio charged with replacing his production. How many coaches and executives throughout the NFL could name him? Probably not many. How much ink has he received this training camp? Not much at all.

It’s almost curious, but Jackson has always flown under the radar.

In college, the Tennessee coaches begged NFL scouts to listen. They contended that Jackson would play in the NFL for a long time. He deflected 11 passes as a senior, compiled 56 tackles and had two sacks. Longtime college cornerbacks coach Willie Martinez informed his son, who works for the New Orleans Saints. Even his son dismissed the opinion. Tim Banks, currently Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, implored scouts to take a shot.

“I’m telling you guys, this Theo Jackson kid can play,” Banks would say to scouts on the sideline at practice.

They’d look at him with scrunched faces.

“They think I’m just riding for my guy,” Banks said disgustedly. “It’s just like recruiting.”

He’s pointing out the flaw in the system. In college, recruiting services and online databases rank players early. Late bloomers are often left by the wayside. In the pros, teams begin their evaluations of the next year’s crop of players a year early. Scouts are occasionally too focused on the previous year’s list of names to notice the kids blossoming right in front of them.

There’s also this truth: Smarts are tough to assess.

Speed is timed. Size is measured. But how do you gauge a person’s bandwidth for retaining information? How do you measure his aptitude for translating what he’s learned in the classroom to the field? How about his wiring to make split-second decisions on the field? What about his sheer level of commitment to the craft? The answers to these questions are rarely considered in pre-draft analysis.

Teams typically use 15-minute interviews to try to decipher clues about a player. But what if the player is shy? Or what if, as in Jackson’s case, he has a stutter?

That’s something Banks identified when he was hired by the Volunteers in 2021. He wondered how it might affect Jackson’s ability to communicate on the field, but the youngster swiftly erased all doubts. Not only did Banks learn about Jackson’s elite mental horsepower and awareness, but also that Jackson had allocated meaningful time and energy to improve his speech.

Eventually, Banks became confident enough in Jackson to make him the “star” defender, Tennessee’s version of a nickel. Jackson decoded receiver screens with ease. He didn’t miss tackles. He could even line up in man coverage, a versatile skill that has made him a great fit for Flores. When you peel back the layers on Jackson’s path, he was almost made for the Vikings system. In college, Jackson first played for Jeremy Pruitt, a defense-oriented coach who had studied under Nick Saban. And where did Saban refine his defense? Alongside Bill Belichick, the man who laid Flores’ foundation.

“I come from the Patriots system,” said Martinez, Tennessee’s defensive backs coach who recruited Jackson. “I know they love smart football players. Smart and tough in that order is what (Flores) likes. If a player has the ability, it’s icing on the cake. But you’re not going to play for those guys if you don’t know what to do, and you don’t know how to make adjustments.”

Jackson hasn’t played a meaningful defensive role over the last two seasons for one reason: numbers. The Vikings had Smith and Bynum. Metellus, a sixth-round pick from 2020, was next in line. Jackson was buried on the depth chart, but the coaching staff has treated him as a starter for multiple seasons. Jackson and Jones laugh now about Jones’ hollering at Jackson when a linebacker filled the wrong gap or when a cornerback misplayed a coverage. No, it wasn’t Jackson’s fault. Jones, though, wanted him to feel the accountability.

“He’s been held to a different standard,” Jones said.

Maybe that’s why Smith and Metellus almost sound surprised when they’re asked about Jackson’s current involvement. It’s as if they’re in on a bit to keep Jackson as overlooked and unmentioned as he’s always been.

They can try, but time is running out. Soon enough, he’ll be back there in prime time, disguising coverages with the best of them on a stage that leaves nothing concealed. For Jackson, it’s long overdue.

(Photo: Julian Finney / Getty Images)