Top 25 most important Bears in 2022: No. 4 Eddie Jackson

Shaw Local is counting down the top 25 most important Bears for the 2022 season.

What makes one player more important than another? That’s subjective, of course. But for our purposes it comes down to this: Are the Bears worse off if this player can’t play? Does this player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?

For example, Justin Fields might not be the best player on the Bears in 2022 (or maybe he will be), but he certainly is among the most important.

No. 4 Eddie Jackson

Position: Safety

NFL experience: Sixth season

Last year’s ranking: No. 11

Looking back: It feels like it has been a long, long time since Eddie Jackson’s All-Pro season in 2018. Somehow the two-time Pro Bowl safety hasn’t had an interception since 2019. The ball-hawk who intercepted six passes and scored two touchdowns in 2018 has been nowhere in sight. It has been an up and down couple of years for Jackson. Last season he forced one fumble and totaled 76 combined tackles.

Jackson’s lack of takeaways has coincided with the Bears’ lack of takeaways as a team. The 28-year-old has had his fair share of poor tackling moments, which a subsection of Bears fans are all too eager to point out on social media. Jackson signed a five-year, $58 million contract extension in January of 2020, which will keep him under contract through 2024.

Looking forward: One of new head coach Matt Eberflus’ biggest challenges will be finding a way to unlock Jackson. In the past, when Jackson has played at a high level, the Bears defense has played at a high level. A new defensive scheme under Eberflus could do Jackson some good. The addition of rookie safety Jaquan Brisker should give Jackson more freedom to do what he does best: roam deep and keep plays in front of him. An improved secondary overall, with Brisker and rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon in the mix, should take some of the pressure off Jackson.

With the team in the midst of a major transition under new leadership, general manager Ryan Poles needs to determine what he wants to do with Jackson moving forward. Financially, it becomes much more manageable to move on from his contract in 2023. If Poles and Eberflus aren’t happy with Jackson’s ability to adapt to the new system, it’s possible Jackson could be on the trade block next year. Or this scheme could be exactly what Jackson needed. Either way, this is a huge year for him.

Top 25 most important Bears in 2022: No. 4 Eddie Jackson

No. 4 Eddie Jackson

In case you missed it: Previous installments of the top 25

Sean Hammond