4 Washington players who didn’t prove their worth in 2021

3. William Jackson III

Before you come at us in the comments, yes, we acknowledge that William Jackson showed improvement in the second half. In fact, we’ve acknowledged that every time we’ve mentioned him in an article.

However, there’s no denying that Jackson still has work to do to prove he was worthy of the three-year, $40.5 million contract, including $26 million in guaranteed money, he signed last offseason.

At the end of the day, Jackson was an abomination in coverage over the first two months of the season and missed five games due to injury. That wouldn’t help any player’s case in end-of-season reflections.

For the year, Jackson registered 39 tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defended. Not terrible production by any means, but his 59.7 player grade from PFF finished 79th of 118 graded cornerbacks. He also allowed five touchdowns, a 95.1 passer rating and 11.7 yards per reception.

In addition, Jackson struggled with penalties. He was penalized seven times, good for the sixth-most among qualified defensive backs and his five pass interference infractions were second-most at the position.

Those are the numbers of someone who has a lot to prove in 2022. However, there’s reason to believe Jackson will bounce back. If you remember, Kendall Fuller struggled in his first year with Washington after signing a big deal.

This past season, Fuller performed like a top-flight CB. He graded out as the No. 5 corner in the league, per PFF. His 78.7 coverage grade was seventh among full-time corners and his 87.0 run defense grade ranked second only to the Vikings’ Cameron Dantzler, who played over 400 fewer snaps.

Bottom line? We’re high on Jackson’s future in the DMV. At the same time, though, it’s hard to deny he met the criteria for this article.