Miami Dolphins: 3 New England players that need to be accounted for
By Nick Belotto
With Stephon Gilmore out of the starting lineup, it will be up to J.C. Jackson to step up as the number one cornerback for this New England defense. In reality, Jackson doesn’t have a ton of stepping up to do to take over for the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, even if he is not as purely talented as Gilmore.
Jackson is a young, talented cornerback who has a nose for football. In the 2020 season, Jackson finished second in the league in interceptions (behind one Xavien Howard), hauling in 9 of them, including one each from Miami’s starters last season (stats courtesy of ESPN.com). Jackson also recovered two fumbles, further proving that he is very good at getting turnovers. Hey may not be the best coverage corner in the league, but he makes up for it with big plays at the right moments that can be real momentum swingers.
The talented 4th-year corner out of Maryland is a quality defender who needs to be accounted for in the passing game. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will need to do a good job of reading Jackson’s coverages and making sure that the ball is out on time. If he’s late on a throw, Jackson will intercept the ball killing any momentum the offense may have had.
Miami’s receivers, mostly DeVante Parker and Jaylen Waddle, will need to use their skill sets to get separation from Jackson to give Tagovailoa the opportunity to make those appropriate throws. Jackson is by no means a lockdown corner and if Parker and Waddle are on their games, they can beat him in coverage enough times to turn the game in Miami’s favor.