KC Chiefs: Is J.C. Jackson a realistic target in free agency?

The list of potential free agent fits for the Kansas City Chiefs seems to be growing by the day with new connections being made and rumblings of more players being interested or available.

One of the latest names creating buzz seems to be that of New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson. Jackson is slated to be a free agent after four seasons in New England with an estimated market value of approximately $20 million per year according to Spotrac.com.

Jackson appeared to be a likely franchise tag candidate and or a very likely to return to New England but recent comments from Jackson Via NBC Sports Boston would seem to indicate Jackson isn’t too fond of the way the Patriots have handled his impending free agency.

"“I guess they feel like they don’t need me,” Jackson said. “I guess I can’t be that important to them. I know I am, but they’re not showing me.”"

Could J.C. Jackson be in play for KC Chiefs?

A new team seems to be inevitable as Jackson’s market will be competitive if he does hit the open market and the Patriots are typically pretty stingy when it comes to re-signing star players to big money contracts.

If Jackson does indeed hit the open market, could the Chiefs be a potential fit? On the surface, adding Jackson would not only make sense, but it would give the Chiefs an elite, shutdown cornerback and they simply haven’t had that in a very long time.

The Chiefs have gotten by with rather average cornerback play over the last several seasons, including 2019 in which they won the Super Bowl, but as the NFL and the AFC in particular continue to stack up at the skill positions, the Chiefs need to start seriously addressing cornerback so they don’t have to keep relying on Patrick Mahomes and the offense to win games.

Even if your evaluation of the cornerback position is pretty good, the position will still be a need this offseason as L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton are the only two cornerbacks under contract for next season. Ward will be a free agent next month and it’s a question of whether or not they bring him back. It’s possible a few cornerback-needy teams get in a bidding war for Ward, and if that is the case, the Chiefs should probably move in another direction. If they are going to dish out big money at cornerback, they could aim higher than Ward.

There’s no question that Jackson is an elite cornerback. In four seasons with the Patriots, Jackson has accrued 158 total tackles, 25 interceptions, and an absurd 53 passes defended. He also only allowed a 50.5 passer rating when targeted and earned an 80.4 overall grade in coverage from PFF this past season. He has the ability to man up on the other team’s best receiver and shadow him all game long.

While other areas on the Chiefs roster certainly need work, any time you can add a guy with the ability to essentially take away the other teams’ best passing weapon, you have to consider it. The Chiefs would also have a pretty deep corner group if they were to sign Jackson and maybe invest a draft pick into the position. Both Fenton and Sneed are coming off pretty good seasons but they play a lot of slot and nickel while Jackson could take the outside responsibilities and finally let those guys do what they do best.

Jackson would obviously cost a lot of money looking at his estimated market value, but good cornerbacks don’t come cheap. Given the fact that they will likely have to dish out some money just to bring Ward back, an upgrade could make more sense. The Chiefs will eventually have to spend bigger resources at the cornerback position instead of conducting experiments with under-the-radar names.

Of course, if the Chiefs truly want to obtain an elite cornerback like Jackon, it would probably mean they have to cut costs by letting someone like Tyrann Mathieu go. Having two guys making around $20 million per year in the secondary is a hefty price tag. However, Jackson is a lot younger than Mathieu and is probably more valuable given the position and how well Jackson plays it. Not to say Mathieu isn’t a great player, but a shutdown corner who is only 26-years-old sounds better than an aging safety who may want around the same money.

It seems apparent the Chiefs have something big up their sleeves this offseason with the amount of money they can free up. Could Jackson be realistic? Financially, the answer is yes, but we will just have to see if the Chiefs are interested.