Patriots: JC Jackson’s struggles vs Stefon Diggs indicate he may not be shutdown cornerback

Pro Bowl snub JC Jackson might not be a No. 1 cornerback after all.

If we learned anything from the New England Patriots’ blowout home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, which saw them clinch their first losing record in 20 years, it’s that it won’t take just one offseason to fully repair their slew of roster deficiencies.

Truth be told, the Patriots really only have a handful of foundational pieces to build around moving forward. Taking that into account, jettisoning as much deadwood as possible while adding more core players in free agency should be the top priority in the offseason.

It goes without saying that budding cornerback JC Jackson fits under the former category, but questions still remain about whether he’d be capable of taking over No. 1 duties if the team was to part ways with Stephon Gilmore, who regressed in coverage this year after earning All-Pro nods the two previous seasons.

Well, if their lopsided primetime loss was any indication, the Patriots are right to have reservations about Jackson making that leap.

This isn’t us questioning if Jackson has been the Patriots best player on defense in 2020. In 15 games, the third-year pro has racked up 36 tackles, 13 passes defended, eight interceptions (which rank second in the league), and three fumble recoveries. On top of that, he flaunts an elite 70.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing quarterbacks to complete just 54.9% (39-of-71) of their pass attempts when throwing his direction this season.

With that being said, however, most of that production has come with Jackson locking down opposing team’s No. 2 wideouts, with Gilmore shadowing the certified No. 1 receivers. There were multiple instances against Buffalo where the Pro Bowl snub got cooked by Stefon Diggs, who finished with nine receptions for 145 yards (16.1 YPC) and three touchdowns.

Jackson wasn’t covering Diggs on all of those catches, but he looked second-best far too often for a guy who the Patriots are probably considering appointing to the top spot on the cornerback depth chart this offseason. That isn’t to say, however, that Jackson didn’t have moments of brilliance against arguably the league’s hottest receiver.

That’s the thing about Jackson. He shows glimpses that indicate he has the requisite skill set to be a top cornerback on a stout defense, but his vulnerability in man coverage against some of the better wideouts cannot be denied.

We obviously want the Patriots to extend him — his knack for creating turnovers and overall dominance in coverage has proven to be invaluable — but we need to see more before we can be absolutely certain that he should be their No. 1 CB of the future.

Every Patriots fan will love watching Bill Belichick smash a phone on the sideline

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick slammed a phone on the sidelines after he lost a challenge against the Buffalo Bills.