Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson moved through the 2025 campaign like a smooth criminal.
Pro Football Focus contributor Zach Tantillo recently named each team’s most underrated impact player from this past season. He tabs Jackson as Carolina’s “secret superstar,” but, uh, the cat already seems to be out of the bag . . .
Jackson might not be a secret anymore after his lockdown performance in the playoffs. He posted a 90.9 PFF coverage grade against the Rams after allowing just one catch on eight targets and picking off MVP favorite Matthew Stafford.
He finished 2025 as the Panthers’ highest-graded player (83.5), fueled by 18 forced incompletions — the second most in the NFL. His 18 forced incompletions were more than all other Carolina cornerbacks combined.
As noted by Tantillo, Jackson shined in the Panthers’ wild-card round appearance against the Los Angeles Rams. The sixth-year veteran, in addition to that sparkling coverage mark, earned a game-high 90.4 overall grade from the the 34-31 loss.
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Jackson, who signed a two-year deal to return to the Panthers last spring, will enter the final season of his pact fresh off career-highs in interceptions (four), passes defensed (19) and stops (22).
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: PFF names Panthers’ most underrated player from 2025 season