Houston Texans must re-sign Kareem Jackson

If you ask most people to name the best cornerback on the Houston Texans, the vast majority of them would say “Johnathan Joseph” without thinking twice about it, since Joseph has earned a reputation over the years for being one of the game’s best corners ever since he formed an elite partnership with Leon Hall on the Cincinnati Bengals. While Joseph is still a good corner at the age of 30, he’s no longer the best CB on the team, as Kareem Jackson fully took the torch from the veteran.

Jackson had career-highs in his third season in the league with 16 passes defended and four picks in the team’s excellent 2012 season, as he broke out to establish himself as one of the league’s most underrated corners. He had just nine passes defended last season, but he had three picks and, more importantly, played the most consistent coverage of his life, showing off the ability to play anywhere on the field.

According to ESPN NFL Nation’s Tania Ganguli, Jackson stated that he would “love” to return to the Texans this offseason, as he is an impending free agent. It’s clear that he wants to stay, and hopefully the Texans show just as much desire to retain their budding star in the secondary.

It’s all about developing consistency at the cornerback position, and Jackson turned himself from a playmaking corner into an underrated CB who can shut down receivers and play everywhere in the formation. If he hits free agency, he would hit the market with plenty of other strong corners, as Antonio Cromartie, Byron Maxwell, and Brandon Flowers could all be available. I would take Jackson over Cro in a heartbeat, especially since the Texans CB will be 27 when the season starts.

The Texans can’t afford to lose Jackson, though, because their secondary could become a disaster zone without their versatile, standout CB. Joseph is still going strong, but he’ll be 31 to start the season and is heading into the final year of his deal. Basically, Jackson would be the only player they can rely upon long term if they do re-sign him, and I can’t find a reason for them to pass up on him.

While Jackson could break the bank if he hits free agency, it’s just as likely that he could become incredibly undervalued on the open market with bigger names at the position set to hit the waters. That competition could force Jackson to take a lesser deal, so it makes sense for him to try and see what he can get from the Texans, who, again, should be serious about re-signing their second-best player on defense.

How solid was Jackson last season for the Texans? Per Pro Football Focus, opponents had just a 74.1 QB Rating when throwing it in his direction, as well as a 59.2% completion percentage in his coverage. He didn’t get burned often, and his only truly deplorable performance came in September when shadowing New York Giants star receiver Victor Cruz in the slot.

Given how mediocre safeties Kendrick Lewis and D.J. Swearinger are in coverage, it’s all the more important for the Texans to keep their top cornerback duo intact, specifically their top CB who is in the prime of his career and will most likely be affordable. Top corners who can line up all over the field with a high degree of success and make plays on the ball aren’t cheap, but Jackson will be worth the money, especially considering how much someone older and more burn-prone like Cromartie could make from, say, the New York Jets this offseason. It’s not that Cro is bad; it’s just that Jackson is even better.

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson (25) during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

PFF has a statistic called “Run Stop%” that measures how many defensive stops, essentially successful tackles, a player had in proportion to their number of tackle attempts. Last season, Kareem Jackson had a career-high 57 tackles and PFF’s 15th-best Run Stop%, though he did miss a tad too many tackles overall with nine.

Despite being targeted more often as a proportion of his total snaps than his partner Joseph, Jackson, per PFF, allowed the 12th-least number of passing yards in his coverage per snap, putting him in between AFC West stalwarts Aqib Talib and Sean Smith, who are both touted as shutdown corner. I’m not sure if Jackson has reached that “shutdown” precipice, but he’s definitely good enough to qualify as a No. 1 corner when you look at the body of work he put together last season.

Given Jackson’s desire to return to the Houston Texans and the fact that this team would have a gaping hole in the secondary without their well-rounded CB, it should be an easy decision for this organization to do what they can to keep him around for a few more years.He won’t come cheap, but I can’t see a situation in which he leverages himself against the team to the point where he makes himself unaffordable.

Based on the fact that Cortez Allen (a worse CB) and Alterraun Verner are making upwards of $6 million per year on the contracts they signed with their teams last year, I’d expect Jackson to cost the Texans about $6 million per year over what would likely be a four-year contract. That sounds fair to me, but in the league today, plenty of hitches come with debates over guaranteed money. As long as he’s reasonably priced ($6 million range), the Texans need to bring him back.

Next: If Jackson leaves, who should Texans draft?

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