Kareem Jackson

From first-round pick to Broncos scout: Kareem Jackson's NFL journey

Kareem Jackson (born April 10, 1988) is an American professional football executive and former player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons and currently serves as an area scout for the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Jackson was selected by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. He also played for the Broncos and Buffalo Bills.

Quick Facts

Current team: Denver Broncos
Position: Area scout
Career position: Defensive back
Career number: 25, 22, 27
Born: 10 April 1988
Birthplace: Macon, Georgia, U.S.
High school: Westside (Macon)
College: Alabama (2007–2009)

Lore & Background

Jackson attended Westside High School in Macon, Georgia. As a senior, he mainly played running back and compiled 1,436 rushing yards with 20 rushing touchdowns, and nine receptions for 256 yards with two receiving touchdowns. Following high school, Jackson attended Fork Union Military Academy, where he converted from running back to cornerback. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jackson was listed as the No. 17 prep school prospect in 2007. As a true freshman at Alabama, he played in 13 games with 12 starts, ranking second on the team with three interceptions and fourth for pass breakups with four, recording 66 tackles and receiving Freshman All-American honors. As a sophomore in 2008, he was eighth on the team in tackles with 44 (including 28 solo), registered ten pass breakups and one interception. As a junior in 2009, he started all 14 games, had the fifth-most tackles on the team (49), made one interception and broke up 13 passes. On January 15, 2010, Jackson declared he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

Reader's Guide

Coming out of Alabama, Jackson was invited to the NFL Combine and completed the entire workout and all required drills. He was satisfied with his combine performance and chose to only partake in positional drills at Alabama's Pro Day. He was projected by the majority of analysts and scouts to be drafted in the first or second round. In a deep cornerback draft, he was ranked the fifth-best cornerback and 32nd overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com. He was listed as the fourth-best cornerback on WalterFootball.com's scouting report. Sports Illustrated also listed him as the fourth-best cornerback in the draft, behind Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, and Devin McCourty. The Houston Texans selected Jackson in the first round (20th overall) of the 2010 NFL draft. He was only the second cornerback taken in 2010, behind Florida's Joe Haden (seventh overall). On July 30, 2010, the Texans signed him to a five-year, $13.52 million contract that includes $7.36 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $875,500. Jackson entered his rookie training camp as the starting right cornerback opposite veteran Glover Quin. He made his professional regular season debut in Houston's season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts, recording four solo tackles and a pass deflection in the 34–24 victory. On October 10, he recorded five solo tackles and his first career interception off quarterback Eli Manning, returning it for 23 yards in the 34–10 loss to the New York Giants. The following week, Jackson racked up a season-high seven combined tackles in a 35–32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers, he made six combined tackles and intercepted quarterback Philip Rivers in a 29–23 loss. On December 13, he had a season-high six solo tackles in a 34–28 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson finished his rookie season with a career-high 71 combined tackles, 10 pass deflections, and two interceptions, while starting in all 16 regular season games. The Texans finished 6–10 and were ranked last in the league in passing defense. Football Outsiders ranked Jackson 68th (47%) in success rating and PFF gave him a -10.3 in pass coverage. His average QB rating for opposing quarterbacks was 111.8. In 2011, Jackson entered training camp competing with Johnathan Joseph, Jason Allen, and Brice McCain to retain the starting cornerback position.