After starting his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles on the wrong foot with a terrible effort against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, veteran cornerback Adoree' Jackson has been the subject of plenty of criticism from fans and pundits alike.
While there is no sugarcoating the fact that Jackson was exposed by the Cowboys' offensive game plan in that season opener, he hasn't been quite as bad in subsequent two games. Granted, this isn't something where the jeers have turned to cheers quite yet; however, the numbers (h/t @DiBonaNFL) do prove that Jackson hasn't been as much of a train wreck as he was during Week 1.
Philadelphia Eagles Can't Afford to Bench CB Adoree’ Jackson Quite Yet
Despite allowing six catches on nine passes thrown in his direction over the last two weeks, Jackson must remain in the starting lineup. Yes, he hasn't been great by any stretch, but he also isn't as bad as his potential replacements have proven to be.
Jakorian Bennett has not lived up to expectations after another game where the advanced stats graded his performance rather terribly. Bennett owns an overall Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 34.2 and a pass coverage grade of 32.7. This has been a disturbing trend throughout his short tenure in the City of Brotherly Love.
If Bennett has any intentions of seeing the field for meaningful snaps as the season moves forward, this is something he needs to address immediately. If he doesn't, Bennett is more likely to be out of a job than to remain an Eagles contributor.
The other option, projected starter Kelee Ringo, was so bad during the exhibition season that he has yet to see the field for a defensive snap during Philadelphia's first three regular-season contests. That is more telling than anything else we have seen from Jackson or Bennett thus far. The recent fourth-round pick can't crack the rotation despite the players ahead of him clearly struggling; that is quite the indicator of what veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks of Ringo.
Until Bennett and Ringo figure out a way to contribute to Philadelphia's success on the defensive side of the ball, Fangio and the defending Super Bowl Champions have little choice but to continue to rely on Jackson at the cornerback spot opposite Mitchell.