Cincinnati Bengals Zero-Snap Spotlight: William Jackson III

Continuing to analyze the Cincinnati Bengals roster with the Zero-Snap Spotlight series, looking at cornerback William Jackson III.

The Zero-Snap Spotlight series continues in the offseason, going deep into the Cincinnati Bengals roster to see who can contribute in the 2017 season, but in a special way. Each player that has been and will be discussed all fits the same mold: None of them are rookies, but none have played a down of NFL football yet.

So far, we’ve taken a deep dive into the following players: Andrew Billings, Marcus Hardison, David Dean, Ryan Brown, Tra Carson, Alonzo Russell, Jake Kumerow, Chris Brown, Jeff Driskel, and Tony McRae.

To continue this series, I look at another cornerback, William Jackson III.

In 2015, Jackson III became the next in a recent line of first round cornerbacks selected by Cincinnati. To some, it may have been a surprise for him to be the choice. Early in the process, he was rating out in the second tier of draftable corners, expected to be a second-round selection. A strong showing in workouts and the way the picks before him fell helped change that.

Still, it was questionable for the Bengals to take yet another first round corner with many assets already spent in that area in recent years. Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard were both still on rookie contracts. Adam Jones was still a big part of the equation. It didn’t seem to make much sense with other areas (namely, the defensive line) standing to gain much more benefit with an infusion of new blood than cornerback, especially with the insistence of Cincinnati to slowly bring along players at that particular position.

Give the Bengals credit: They had solid reasoning behind the choice.

While their depth was mostly secure for that upcoming season, there was change on the horizon. Leon Hall had been let go in free agency. Jones is getting up there in age. Kirkpatrick was in the final season of his deal and set for a big payday if he performed well — a payday that wasn’t assured in Cincinnati. Dennard hadn’t (and still hasn’t) shown much in limited action. Even if Jackson III wasn’t going to play in 2016, he could be another option to help beyond as his predecessors aged, underperformed or priced themselves out of the Bengals’ preferred range.

Another part of their thinking seems to simply be best-player-available drafting. Every team spouts taking the best players on the board, but too often we see their decision-making not reflect that in the least. Part of that is surely that specific team boards vary drastically from each other and those of media draftniks, but a major piece of it clearly is that teams know what they need and are more willing to try filling those with a somewhat lesser player rather than just adding a better guy who may not get utilized enough to be worth the selection to them. Compared to most, the Bengals tend to be more willing to play the long game and live with letting better guys sit and learn for years before seeing the field much, and that was definitely the case here.

Jackson III did plenty to make a case as the best available at Cincinnati’s pick. He showed off an ability to make plays on the ball in college, not only collecting eight interceptionss in three seasons with Houston, but picking up 10 and 23 pass breakups in his final two seasons there, respectively.

His ability to turn those interceptions into something bigger was another clear strength, as three of his eight were returned fortouchdowns. The speed he showed off at the Combine (4.37-second 40-yard dash) and at his pro day (4.32-second 20-yard short shuttle), paired with quality measurables and strong instincts, made him a first-round-level addition, and had Cincinnati not pulled the trigger, the rival Steelers surely could have one pick later.

Having him in tow brought to fruition the plan explained earlier: Let him learn behind the current crop of corners, and have him slowly work into a larger role. Though it was unfortunate for him to injure his shoulder and miss last season, he wasn’t going to play anyway without injuries forcing him into action.

This year, that doesn’t appear to be at much risk for changing either. Kirkpatrick just signed an eight-figure annual deal to be one long-term starter. Jones has been kept, despite even more off-field issues causing a distraction this offseason, and ownership has continued to stand steady in support. Josh Shaw stepped up majorly as the third corner last year, and should continue to have a major role in 2017.

There is a chance Jackson could earn himself a larger role though. Jones, due to his off-field issues, is set to miss the first game of this season. Without him, Cincinnati doesn’t have a clear answer yet to start alongside Kirkpatrick. It wouldn’t be Shaw, who is a slot player, so it will likely come down to Jackson III and Dennard.

Whoever outplays the other in the lead-up to the season will get that call, and should they do well in that game could find themselves in position to have a bigger role in the rotation this year, as well as the upper hand in possibly taking over for Jones full-time should he leave or take a smaller role after this season.

Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Training camp edition

Based on what Dennard has shown to this point in his career, the better bet to capitalize on this opportunity would be Jackson III. Should that happen, it’ll be as clear an example of a plan for a particular player parsing out as perfectly as a team could plan it to.