NFL continues overlooking one of the Panthers most underrated players while valuing other top CB tandems in the league
ESPN released the rankings for the Top-10 cornerbacks in the NFL entering the 2026 season, along with honorable mentions and other players receiving votes. Yet, Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson was completely overlooked again.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released the latest Top-10 positional rankings heading into the 2026 season, as voted on by league executives and coaches, with Tuesday’s ranking focusing on the cornerback position.
A total of 24 cornerbacks were listed among the votes, counting the Top-10 finalists along with the honorable mentions and other players who received some votes. Carolina Panthers standout cornerback Jaycee Horn came in at No. 8 on the list, a fair enough spot for the back-to-back Pro Bowler.
The real crime here for the Panthers, however, was that Horn’s running mate, Mike Jackson, was not mentioned a single time among the top cornerbacks. The league-wide disrespect for Jackson continues despite coming off easily the best season of his career.
Carolina Panthers CB Mike Jackson gets heavily disrespected in ESPN’s CB rankings
Let me be clear, I’m not out here crying that Jackson should have been voted as a Top-5, or even Top-10, cornerback in the league. However, this article mentioned 24 cornerbacks in the NFL and not one time was Jackson mentioned.
And it’s not like the voters shied away from voting multiple players on the same team. Here are some of the CB tandems that were voted in the rankings in some capacity:
- Philadelphia Eagles: Quinyon Mitchell (No. 6), Cooper DeJean (No. 10), and Riq Woolen (Received Votes)
- Cleveland Browns: Denzel Ward (No. 7) and Tyson Campbell (Received Votes)
- Houston Texans: Derek Stingley Jr. (No. 2) and Kamari Lassiter (HM)
I’m not going to say those aren’t great players, because they are and they deserve to be on here. I’m just saying that the duo of Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson should belong in that conversation as well as one of the top cornerback tandems in the NFL if people actually watched a Panthers game once in a while.
Mike Jackson’s 2025-26 season was better than anyone will ever give him credit for
Playing opposite Horn, who’s clearly established as a top cornerback in the league, comes with a lot of heavy attention. Jackson was tasked with that challenge and had the sixth-most targets (97) coming his way among all defenders last season.
Despite quarterbacks frequently attacking him, Jackson allowed a 65.1 passer rating in coverage while recording five interceptions and 18 pass deflections between the regular season and playoffs according to PFF. His 85.8 PFF coverage grade ranked fourth among all cornerbacks in the league.
PFF had Mike Jackson as one of their second-team All-Pro cornerbacks after the 2025-26 season, an honor he rightfully earned. Yet, he never seems to get that respect from people around the league.
The only way to change that is to do it again and Jackson plans to have an even better season with the Panthers in 2026 to hopefully earn that respect he deserves.