Donte Jackson hadn’t experienced this kind of anticipation for almost a decade, dating to when he was embarking on his college career as one of the nation’s highest-rated five-star recruits.
“I almost feel, like, giddy,” Jackson said last week after his first full-squad organized activities session with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I feel giddy like how I was going into LSU, just knowing the standard was already set (at that program). You know what you had to come in there to do (because) it’s been like this for years. And that’s kind of how I felt coming here.
“I’m excited, giddy like a little kid, because the here standard is set: You come in here, you’ve got to swim with sharks, man. And I like to think I am a shark.”
Jackson, a seven-year veteran cornerback, doesn’t need to be the alpha predator on this defense. Acquired in March in exchange for receiver Diontae Johnson in a rare player-for-player NFL trade, Jackson only needs to be a reliable, complementary piece on a unit that features a few hall-of-fame-caliber players as well as an established No. 1 at his position in second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Jackson, 28, has 80 career NFL games, 76 starts and 4,284 defensive snaps — all with Carolina — since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2018.
“Just knowing that I was coming here to be part of something that was always already up and running and that was already dominant and that I could come in and just be come out rolling, that’s exciting,” Jackson said.
Jackson tied for the fastest time in the 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Combine, and he had 14 interceptions over his first 63 games. But, just eight months after signing a three-year, $35 million contract extension in March 2022, Jackson suffered a torn Achilles tendon that ended his fifth NFL season.
In his only action that followed — last season — Jackson did not have an interception and was credited with just five passes defended over 16 games for the 2-15 Panthers.
“I play corner, so the spotlight is always on that position, no matter if you’re a big name or you are just a solid guy who’s been out there making plays,” Jackson said. “And I like to think I was always a solid guy who was out there making plays. It’s just not in front of the right eyes.
“So this is an opportunity to go out there and show what I have been doing my whole career, and that’s making plays. Flying around. Being an impact player. That’s my mindset right now, just to come in and fly around and be a difference-maker.”
Jackson is in the early stages of a partnership with Porter, who, as a rookie last season, played more on the left side of the defense. Jackson has tended to play more on the right throughout his career.
“I don’t care where I play, left or right,” Porter said. “Whoever I’m guarding, I don’t care where I go. ‘D-Jack’ feels the same way. We are just taking turns right now.”
Jackson called the paring with Porter “a match made in heaven.”
“I love that he might as well be a football he loves the game so much,” Jackson said. “Me and him talk all the time, just bouncing ideas off each other. He asks a lot of questions, he’s a great learner and he writes a lot down, so the sky is the limit for Joey. I can’t wait to just to get going with him.”
The Steelers — specifically, coach Mike Tomlin — have been waiting a long time to get after it with Jackson, a player the Steelers were repeatedly linked to during the lead-up to the 2018 draft. In 2022, the Steelers were one of two finalists during his brief foray into free agency.
The Steelers ended up signing Levi Wallace and re-upping with Ahkello Witherspoon.
“So it kind of had a familiarity with how much they really wanted me to come be a part of this,” Jackson said. “As a seven-year guy, you look for those things that get you excited to come play football, and that was totally one of them. That had me going to watch all the old (Steelers) games from back in the day. Just excited to be part of an organization like this.”
