Since 2000, 14 cornerbacks have recorded six or more interceptions through 10 weeks of the regular season. All but two of them prior to 2020 — Doug Evans (2001) and Ray Buchanan (2000) — had been selected to the Pro Bowl the year in which they accomplished this impressive defensive feat.
It seems as though we can up that number to three, though, based on the release of the official 2021 Pro Bowl ballot on Tuesday. The New England Patriots were one of the many teams to post the link to the ballot on their Twitter, and though it's largely been a disappointing year for Bill Belichick's unit (save for a recent upset over the Ravens), there were still some players who seemed to be competing for a roster spot.
One of those guys is J.C. Jackson, who leads the NFL with six interceptions, joining the aforementioned list of 14 cornerbacks to tally that many picks in 10 weeks of play. He is also the first NFL player since 2014 to record an interception in five consecutive games, a feat he accomplished in the Patriots' most recent performance against Baltimore.
Seems like a no-brainer to at least garner a handful of votes, no? Apparently not, seeing as Jackson is not a player who appears on the ballot in the cornerback section or anywhere else. He's not pictured in the Patriots' preview picture for the ballot, either — that honor belongs to eight-time Pro Bowler Matthew Slater and two-timer Devin McCourty.
Interesting. Maybe most of the committee that put together the ballot took most of their Jackson film from the Patriots-Jets game in Week 9. Sure, there was an interception in that one, too. But there was also this.
WEEI's own Scott McLaughlin had some fun with the embarrassing display.
Fellow cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore — who, coincidentally, was 2019's leader in interceptions throughout the whole season with six, which is what Jackson has now — and Jason McCourty were both featured under the cornerback section of the 2021 Pro Bowl ballot.
UPDATE: According to NFL insider Jason Cole, it was the Patriots themselves who decided not to include him on the list.
Now, however, Jackson is available to choose on the ballot at the cornerback position. It appears all of the complaints have worked, and will likely lead to a pretty big boost in votes for the third-year standout.
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