A whirlwind for Jackson: It took longer than he anticipated, but cornerback William Jackson III is now with the team he thought he would be right out of college.
Jackson, who was acquired by the Steelers via a trade on Tuesday with the Washington Commanders, expected the Steelers to be the team that would draft him coming out of the University of Houston.
“Really excited about acquiring Will Jackson,” said Coach Mike Tomlin. “Highly familiar with Will, not only from the AFC North, but just pre-draft when he came out. He was a guy that we had a lot of interest in. We liked his skill set. He’s got really good top end speed. He’s an experienced guy, he’s experienced in the NFL, also experienced in the North. Obviously, he has to learn what to do, but we’re excited about his inclusion and will let his participation and how quickly he learns be our guide maybe in terms of what his role might be particularly in the short term.”
While the Steelers had an interest in him before the draft, as fate would have it the Cincinnati Bengals selected him one spot ahead of the Steelers in the first-round of the 2016 NFL Draft, a place he spent four seasons before spending the last two with the Commanders.
Now in his seventh season, he is where he expected all along.
“Definitely crazy,” said Jackson on Wednesday following his first practice in the black and gold. “Pittsburgh is a great organization to play for. I played them for four years, twice a year. So, it’s cool. It’s really cool to be able to play with these guys.”
Jackson said he had a pre-draft meeting with Coach Mike Tomlin in 2016, one that led him to believe the Steelers had a strong interest.
“I sat down with Mike T and we were talking,” said Jackson. “Things happen in the draft.”
Jackson remembers the day of the draft, being in Houston with family and Cincinnati was on the clock, with the Steelers next. To his surprise, the Bengals, who he only met with once late in the process, called.
“It was crazy,” said Jackson. “It is what it is. Either way I was blessed to actually even go first round. You dream about that as a kid. I just took it all in. Just move forward.”
That moving forward is something that is happening again for Jackson, who drove three hours from Washington to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night to be ready to practice on Wednesday in an effort to start getting acclimated to the system.
“It’s just the first day,” said Jackson. “I am trying to learn the ins and outs of the defense. Learning my leverage, where I need to go. I’m still learning. It’s my fist day. I’ll just get my feet wet today, hopefully come out in the next couple of weeks and be in there.
“I’m just coming in and be the best they want me to be, whatever that may be. I just got here. It was a whirlwind. Everything happened fast. I didn’t get to talk to the coaches good, so it is just getting comfortable with the guys and know what I got to do.
“I just want to get in and get comfortable and knowing exactly what I got to do and know the ins and outs of the defense.”
