When he reported back on the third week of April, Bennett Jackson arrived to the Giants’ offseason workout program as a cornerback.
Immediately, he was approached by defensive assistant coaches and asked a question that really did not need an answer. After all, Jackson spent most of his rookie year injured and out of commission and he must do whatever is asked of him in order to find his way onto the roster.
So, when he was told the plan was to move him to safety and what did he think about that, Jackson never hesitated.
“I was like ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’ ’’ Jackson recalled recently.
Acceptance is the easy part. The hard part arrives the remainder of this spring and on into the summer.
The Giants have holes to fill at the safety position, even after taking two of them in the draft — Landon Collins from Alabama with the first pick of the second round and Mykkele Thompson from Texas in the fifth round.
If Jackson can make the transition, it will greatly enhance his chances to build on the potential he showed — albeit briefly — last year after he came to the Giants as a sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame, by way of Raritan High School in Hazlet, N.J.
News of a position change did not shock Jackson, as word came out from coach Tom Coughlin during the offseason that one of the young cornerbacks, Jackson or Chykie Brown, might be moved to safety. Jackson said he was “happy’’ to hear it would be him, because it showed the coaching staff had a plan for him.
Jackson, at 6-feet and 195 pounds, certainly can pass for a safety, but he never has played that spot on a consistent basis. He is no stranger to a change in position, though — he spent his first year at Notre Dame as a receiver before moving to cornerback, switching his uniform number from 86 to 2. He ended up starting all 26 games his last two years, emerged as a team captain for the Fighting Irish and had six interceptions his final two seasons, displaying the soft hands of someone who had grown up catching passes.
“At the end of the day, I’m a DB,’’ Jackson said. “I think my strengths are cover skills, I got good speed and I got good ball skills. The thing it’s gonna take for me to get out there and make an impact is, I just got to learn the defense and really just communicate the calls fluently. That’s really the main thing with learning a new defense, you got to be accountable and allow people to trust that you’re gonna be out there and really just get the job done.’’
As a rookie, Jackson spent the first six weeks on the practice squad, hurt by ankle and hamstring issues that reduced his chances of making the team out of training camp. Cartilage damage prompted the need for knee surgery, and he underwent a microfracture procedure in October, landing on the practice squad injured list. He was able to participate in the rookie mini-camp a few weeks ago and thus far has had no setbacks.
“It is all in front of him,’’ Coughlin said. “We think he can cover. He has done a good job of getting us lined up and then we will see how he plays.’’
General manager Jerry Reese downplayed the move from corner to safety, saying “It happens all the time.’’
He mentioned that the Patriots’ Devin McCourty — a player the Giants actively tried to sign in free agency — was a cornerback before he made the transition to become a Pro Bowl safety. Reese said though it is preferable to get a safety to play safety, “You have to be creative in this day and age with your personnel.’’
Antrel Rolle, Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps are gone. Left behind on the roster are Nat Berhe and Cooper Taylor, two young safeties with no career NFL starts. Add Jackson into the mix.
“At the end of the day, I just want to get on the field and compete, and I know I can at safety,’’ Jackson said, but adding, “It’s not gonna be an easy road.’’