Eddie Jackson has told us several times that he wants to be a big impact player for the Bears again. He’s embracing his fresh start with the new regime by coming to coaches with things he wants to improve upon, like his point of attack on the ball carrier. On Thursday, Jackson revealed he also wants to become a bigger leader on the team.
“I really eliminated the personal goals this year,” Jackson said. “It was just more overall helping the team, come in and be a better version of myself. I know I'm a vet now, one of the oldest guys in the room so a lot of the young guys look up to me. I have to lead from the front. That's how I prepare, how I work, how I'm in meetings, how I walk around the building, how I attack the weight room. All of that type of stuff. I feel like everything else will fall in line.”
Taking on a bigger leadership role wasn’t something Jackson had in mind earlier this year. But as the offseason went on, and the changes throughout the organization mounted, Jackson realized he needed to step up on the team.
“Oh, man, when they really got rid of everybody, that was the big turning point,” Jackson said. “They got rid of everybody. (Khalil) Mack was my boy. Akiem (Hicks) and Danny (Trevathan), those were my guys. But now, it’s like, you turn around and you look, oh, I’m one of those guys in the room now. These younger guys coming in, they’re gonna look at you. Coach Dre (Andre Curtis), he told me, ‘Listen, baby, you ready to lead? Because we’re ready to follow. You gotta lead from the front, doing all the right things even when no one’s looking.’”
Curtis has seen Jackson rise to that challenge. He praised Jackson’s buy-in earlier this summer and commended how vocal he’s been in the classroom. Curtis also noted how Jackson has taken some of the younger players under his wing. The player who’s become Jackson’s No. 1 mentee is Jaquan Brisker.
“I told him 'If you ever need something, holler at me,'” Jackson said. “Then the very first day I told him that he was like 'Yo! Can I come over and watch film?' So we ate and watched film, stuff like that.”
Jackson was not only impressed by Brisker’s eagerness to learn, but also at how he proved to be an astute student.
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“He asks a lot of questions and a lot of the right questions,” Jackson said. “I just try to give him tips like 'how to play this, how to play this, I was too high'. Hearing him coach himself up and the little things, it just shows you that he's going to have a lot of success in his career because he pays attention to the little things that most guys don't pay attention to."
Listening to Jackson, he seems to genuinely enjoy his new leadership role. He knows full well that he needs to produce at a higher clip than he has over the past few seasons, but he seems to also understand that a rising tide lifts all boats. If he can help the younger players transition to the NFL to make an impact on the defense, that will help the Bears too.