The Philadelphia Eagles are set to travel and play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, where their defense will face a much tougher test than they did in Week 1. While they were able to secure the win against the Dallas Cowboys, cornerback Adoree' Jackson was an obvious weak point, ultimately getting benched. Despite that, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio doesn't seem ready to give up on the veteran.
When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Fangio was asked if Jackson would start vs. Kansas City, and he responded, "Right now yes." This decision is a baffling one after Jackson's debut.
Vic Fangio Shocks Eagles Fans With Adoree' Jackson Starting Announcement
With how Jackson played against the Cowboys, it's a bit surprising that Fangio came out and said he will be the team's starter at corner, especially this early in the week.
He allowed five catches for 103 receiving yards and five first downs against Dallas. This came with terrible grades across the board on PFF, logging a 32.4 overall grade (104th among 107 graded corners), 41.8 run defense grade (94th among 107 graded corners), and 33.6 coverage grade (102nd among 107 graded corners).
To be quite frank, he was one of the worst players at his position across the league in Week 1. The Eagles didn't feel comfortable with their CB room anyway, as they brought in Mike Hilton in for a workout this week.
Philadelphia has Jakorian Bennett, Mac McWilliams, and Kelee Ringo as other options who could start at corner for this team.
Even though Bennett was shaky his debut (only playing seven snaps and grading out poorly on PFF), the Eagles will have to pull the plug on Jackson one way or another if he struggles again in Week 2. Those struggles would be especially hard to forgive when you consider who he'll be tasked with covering.
The Chiefs' WR room is dealing with several absences right now. Rashee Rice is serving a six-game suspension, WR Xavier Worthy is dealing with a shoulder injury, and Jalen Royals has knee tendinitis. That leaves Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Jason Brownlee as the top four WRs on the team. None of these guys compare to the likes of George Pickens or CeeDee Lamb, and that could be good news for Jackson.
He may be able to bounce back in this outing, but sticking with him after seeing what he put on tape in Week 1 is a real gamble from Fangio.