“It’s just bet on yourself. I’ve been in this league. I done bounced around,” said Jackson. “I’ve been places, I’ve had coaches laugh in my face, all that. But at the end of the day, I know who I am. So on Sunday, I just come to show up, come ready to play, and that’s when you do all your talking.”
Some of the action he’s seen is because teams don’t want to throw towards Horn, the two-time Pro Bowler who didn’t see a single target Sunday against the Bucs. And Jackson understands why offenses would rather look his way than Horn’s.
“Jaycee’s worth 100 million,” laughed Jackson, pointing out the obvious. “I said this last week, but you’d rather be scared of him than me. So, that should come with the territory.”
But now, the Panthers’ CB2 is proving that his “territory” is setting offenses up more so to pick their poison. That could come to life again Sunday against his former team and Hawks quarterback Sam Darnold. The passer is third in the league in total yardage with 3,703 yards, but is also third in the league with the most interceptions thrown, with 13 total, behind only Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa.
Jackson insists any motivation will come from the chance to play well, though, and not from any lingering bitterness towards the trade.