Buffalo Bills 3 defensive free agent targets to get over the hump

Buffalo Bills free agent target No. 1: J.C. Jackson, CB

For the last target, we stay within the AFC East. New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson has emerged as one of the biggest stars at the position.

He recorded 25 interceptions in four seasons with 17 of those coming in the past two years. If that wasn’t enough, he also had 23 pass defenses in 2021 alone.

Set for free agency, Jackson — who was shockingly undrafted in 2018 — has made it known that he wants to remain with the Patriots. However, Henry McKenna of Patriots Wire points out that re-signing elite cornerbacks isn’t always the ‘Patriot Way’.

"“When he first emerged as a starter, Jackson was the replacement for Malcolm Butler as the CB2 behind Stephon Gilmore. But then Jackson proved he could also replace Gilmore, so the Patriots let him do just that. With Gilmore missing time due to injuries over 2020 and 2021, the Patriots promoted Jackson permanently into the CB1 spot by trading away Gilmore.” — Henry McKenna, Patriots Wire"

It’s easy to say Jackson should be the exception but that statement could have been true about their other starters as well who excelled in New England. The truth is, Bill Belichick has positions he will pay and some he will not. Cornerback has often been one that he refuses to pay.

Should that be the case in 2022, the Bills need to see what they can do to bring him in. Sure, they will need to move money around to make it work but sometimes a team has to get creative to load up talent in order to make a title run.

Adding Jackson across from Tre’Davious White would go a long way toward making that run a reality.