Green Bay Packers finally throw in the towel on Josh Jackson
The Green Bay Packers acquired cornerback Isaac Yiadom in a trade, and gave up former second-round pick Josh Jackson to get him.
NFL teams are required to have their rosters cut to 85 players heading into week two of the preseason slate, and although the most common way to get rosters down to the league’s maximum number is waiving players, some teams choose to be creative and make some trades. The Green Bay Packers and New York Giants came together on an intriguing trade at the first roster cut deadline with the Giants sending 2018 third-round pick Isaac Yiadom to the Packers for 2018 second-round pick Josh Jackson.
The Packers have finally thrown in the towel on the former second-round pick out of Iowa, and both teams are obviously hoping a change of scenery (in Yiadom’s case, second change of scenery) can revive these players’ careers and bring to the fore their high potential.
Jackson, in particular, seemed like a major steal for the Green Bay Packers when they initially selected him 45th overall in 2018.
He started his career at Iowa as a wide receiver, made the transition to defensive back, and in 2017, he had the breakout season to end all breakout seasons.
Jackson went from relative obscurity to All-American, picking off a whopping eight passes with two returns for touchdowns. He had 18 passes broken up on the season, and everything checked out at the Scouting Combine in terms of his size and athleticism, despite perhaps having a bit less-than-ideal speed.
Given his upside coming out of Iowa, it was understandably tough for the Green Bay Packers to “quit” Jackson.
He obviously has a lot of talent and they stuck with him through his first four NFL offseasons before making the decision to move on.
They obviously hit big-time with Jaire Alexander and they also have Eric Stokes, Kevin King, and now Isaac Yiadom coming back in this trade.
For the New York Giants and their revamped secondary, this is a shot to get Jackson a fresh start and a fresh shot at some playing time as well. He may not be any higher than CB4 in New York barring injury, but over the course of a 17-game season, there’s almost no question that he is going to play.
Neither Jackson nor Yiadom necessarily “deserves” an upgraded role based on what they have done through their first three NFL seasons, but this swap for both players could wind up being very beneficial.