The Pittsburgh Steelers' secondary has been a revolving door this season, with injuries and poor play forcing them to shuffle their lineup on a near-weekly basis.
Prized trade acquisition Jalen Ramsey has been forced into a full-time safety role; offseason signings Darius Slay and Juan Thornhill have both been released, and DeShon Elliott played only five games before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Add in another frustratingly inconsistent season from top corner Joey Porter Jr., and fans can't help but be disappointed in the secondary. Even worse is what a former starting corner is up to now that he has made his way to the West Coast.
Donte Jackson spent the 2024 season with the Steelers after being traded in exchange for Diontae Johnson, and it was arguably the worst season of his career. He struggled mightily in coverage despite intercepting four passes, and Pittsburgh let him walk in free agency as a result.
Now in Los Angeles with the Chargers, Jackson is enjoying a career year as part of one of the NFL's best defenses.
Chargers' Donte Jackson is making the Steelers look foolish for misusing him
Most of the criticism the Steelers have faced about letting players leave this offseason has been about receiver George Pickens, and rightfully so. The 2022 second-round pick has enjoyed a career year in his own right, but there are at least reasons beyond his talent level that led to his departure from Pittsburgh.
The same cannot be said for their decision to move on from Jackson. I admittedly was never a fan of bringing him in from the start, and his play in 2024 made that take look like the right one. However, my reasoning for why couldn't have been more wrong.
It wasn't a few nagging injuries and declining speed that were making him look bad; it was the Steelers asking him to be a man-cover corner when his skillset was much better suited for playing in a zone-heavy defense, like what defensive coordinator Jesse Minter runs in Los Angeles.
That change in scheme has resulted in the best season of Jackson's career, and one that I think is worthy of Pro Bowl consideration. He came into this week ranked fourth among corners who have played at least his 473 snaps this season in coverage grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
That grade is certain to go up once they review his Week 14 performance against the Eagles. He intercepted Jalen Hurts late in the first half, and he defended three other passes on the night to help the Chargers come away with a 22-19 win.
With all that in mind, would Jackson be playing like this had he returned to Pittsburgh? Absolutely not, and the fact that he was brought in at all is the real issue. The Steelers have tried to force players into roles they aren't suited for far too often in recent years, and Jackson is just the latest example of them misusing a useful player.