Patriots: Who will lead the team in interceptions this season?

5. J.C. Jackson

Those Patriots fans still grieving over the departure of Malcolm Butler should instead focus their attention and collective energy on J.C. Jackson.

Jackson’s story has shades of Butler’s all over it. Both hail from poorer, rural communities in the south: Jackson from Immokalee, Florida, and Butler from Vicksburg, Mississippi. Both spent time playing at small colleges: Jackson at Riverside City College and Butler at West Alabama. Most importantly, both went undrafted before getting scooped up by the New England Patriots.

Like Butler, Jackson quickly made a name for himself as a rookie at training camp and in the preseason. He made the team’s initial 53-man roster as a starter and never looked back, finishing his debut season last year with 24 tackles, three interceptions, and six passes defensed. He had another seven tackles and two more passes defensed in the postseason as well.

Perhaps most impressive of all, Jackson graded out as ProFootballFocus’ No. 1 cornerback in terms of passer rating allowed in 2018. That was a better mark by far than a number of bigger names at cornerback, including Xavien Howard, Chris Harris Jr., Kyle Fuller, and Jackson’s own teammate, Stephon Gilmore.

While it’s fair to wonder if there may be some regression toward the mean in his sophomore season, it’s hard to argue against the black-and-white picture painted by the numbers and stats Jackson put up as a rookie. If 2018 is any indication, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Jackson lead New England in picks this year.