Dexter Jackson: I Hope [Shedeur] Sanders Does What I Did and Uses [Sliding to the 5th Round] for Fuel
We sat down with former NFL player and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP, Dexter Jackson, to get his thoughts on the Bucs, the NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders, and more.
View the full transcript here:
Your former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, drafted Emeka Egbuka in the 1st Round of the draft. What did you make of this and what do you think Egbuka could add to the Buccaneers offense?
With the talent that he has combined with the ability to learn from Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the sky is the limit for him.
In just one year, he’ll be able to grow so much by learning from those guys.
With the way offenses are ran now in the NFL, they want to put up points in these 3-WR and 4-WR sets. They want to throw the football and spread it around, so Tampa Bay is a perfect fit for Egbuka.
When you look at Ohio State’s track record with wide receivers in the last few years, it makes you think that Egbuka could be a phenomenal player for a really long time.
Some people see Egbuka as a succession plan to Evans, but he won’t have to fill those shoes right away, as Evans is still producing at a high level. But NFL means Not For Long, so it was smart to bring in a guy who can be a potential successor to Mike.
Overall, I think it was a great selection by the Bucs, and Egbuka is going to contribute from day one while learning from two great Pro Bowlers in the same receiver room.
What have you made of the Cincinnati Bengals’ offseason business? Have they made steps towards being back in the playoffs?
It’s interesting with the Bengals because they already have all the talent. It’s just about being healthy for them. Every year, they seem to have the talent, but injuries happen year after year.
They’ve been among the favorites in the past but then lost Joe Burrow to injury a couple of times. You must be lucky in the NFL a lot of the time, and lucky means healthy. Cincinnati hasn’t always had this luck recently.
Burrow is always going to be the key for the Bengals to be successful. He’s right up there with the other elite quarterbacks in the league right now.
Numbers don’t lie and he has a great work ethic too. He’s a competitor, and I love that he’s always willing to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means getting out of the pocket and diving for a first down.
When other people see their leader going out there and doing anything it takes to win, it’s infectious in a good way.
The AFC North is a tough, very physical division, so they will have to fight, but with their draft picks, quarterback, and that wide receiver duo (Ja’Marr Chase & Tee Higgins), they can definitely beat the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers to that division title if they can stay healthy.
The Bengals drafted Shemar Stewart in the 1st Round. Some have criticized Stewart’s production in college. Do you think this could be a concern for the Bengals?
College production isn’t really a concern to me.
When you talk about a lack of college production, this can sometimes be down to the college’s system or coach.
When transitioning to the NFL, it’s about finding the right system, coach, and even the right teammates. If you get drafted to a team that can give you all three of these things, then you can be a perfect fit for that team regardless of the numbers you put up in college.
Stewart has all the intangibles needed to be a success in the NFL. The next step is up to him though. If he wants to be great and has a good work ethic, he has so much potential.
If the Bengals can keep Trey Hendrickson and he is willing to help develop Stewart, that could be a very exciting situation for Bengals fans.
You know the Bengals will put up points on offense, and on the defensive side, Hendrickson is a phenomenal player. So, if he and Stewart can get after the quarterback on defense, you’re looking at a very dangerous team who can be a favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Cornerback Will Johnson slid in the draft and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. What did you make of the way Johnson slid down to the 2nd Round?
Well, cornerback was definitely a need for the Cardinals. The good news for Johnson and the Cardinals is that the NFC West isn’t full of explosive passing offenses, so it’s a good situation for him to come into and grow.
Sliding in the draft could’ve helped ease the pressure on Johnson, as he’s not going to a team who is in full rebuild mode.
This happened to me. I was told I was going to be selected by teams who were picking higher up, but I ended up going to the Buccaneers in the 4th Round, who already had a great defense. It’s not about where you get picked, it’s about grabbing your opportunity and showing your worth.
What can a healthy Will Johnson bring to the Cardinals’ defense?
A healthy Will Johnson is a special player.
He could allow the Cardinals to do so much more on defense. When you have a special player like Johnson, you can run different zone schemes and blitz packages and do so much because you know Johnson can stand up on his own and do well. That’s the reason you pick a Will Johnson, because you can leave him out on his own and he’ll be able to do things very few other defensive backs can do.
It’s also a passing league, so you’re always going to need someone like Johnson who can go and lock down receivers, and I think he can do that in the NFL.
Going up against Marvin Harrison Jr. in practice will also help Johnson’s development a lot.
You play how you practice, and practice should be harder than the actual games. So, if you’re going up against one of the best young receivers in the game every day in practice, game days shouldn’t be an issue.
They will both help sharpen each other’s tools, and that competition will help create a better team environment in Arizona.
Joshua Farmer, who attended FSU like yourself, was drafted by the New England Patriots. What do you make of his game? And what can he add to Mike Vrabel’s defense?
Farmer brings a lot to the Patriots’ defense.
I know Mike Vrabel well, so I know Farmer will be coached hard and he’ll be coached well. From playing under Bill Belichick, Vrabel knows the Xs and Os and he knows what buttons to press to make guys play harder and understand the game better.
New England is a great spot for Farmer. They are still rebuilding but have a lot of good young players, so it’s a great time for Farmer to come into the team. He has the opportunity to play right away and learn from a great coach in an organization that has won six Super Bowl championships.
The AFC East is not a strong division right now. If they can develop their young players, the Patriots could win this division in 2025.
It’s cold in New England and you can’t throw the ball 60 times, so you have to try and run. So, for them to go out and get a bigger guy in Farmer, who can plug the hole but also still get pressure on the quarterback up front, it’s a great selection.
When you take his intangibles, tape, and skill set into consideration and combine that with the situation he is in being coached by Vrabel in a cold environment where he could play right away, Farmer could be a future Defensive Player of the Year.
Maybe I’m a little biased because he’s coming from Florida State, but they do have a history of creating great NFL defensive players.
Shedeur Sanders surprisingly slid all the way to the 5th Round. What do you make of Sanders’ situation?
I was supposed to be drafted a lot higher than where I ended up. I hope Sanders does what I did and uses it for fuel.
He should have a chip on his shoulder, and he should write down the name of every quarterback who went ahead of him and put that list on the back of his bedroom door. That’s what I did so the list was the first thing I saw when I woke up and the last thing I saw before I slept. Every time I woke up, my first thought was to outwork those guys every day.
Shedeur was a phenomenal player in college, and he absolutely can be a great player in the NFL.
He took a lot of hits but always kept coming back and kept playing hard.
He shouldn’t let where he was drafted affect his goal of wanting to become a starting quarterback on a Super Bowl winning team. There’s plenty of stories of guys not being the first choice but being the best choice. Tom Brady was a 6th-rounder. Kurt Warner was bagging groceries.
If you look at the Browns’ quarterback room, Sanders could even start this year.
We don’t know how the Browns feel about Deshaun Watson, and he’s hurt anyway. Joe Flacco is 40 years old, and then there’s Kenny Pickett. There’s an opportunity there for both Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
Regardless of who starts, they should keep Flacco because his experience will be valuable to Sanders and Gabriel.
When you’re a quarterback in the NFL, a lot of things are thrown at you, but Flacco could teach them how to be a pro and help them develop skills, such as reading pro defenses. Flacco has seen a lot in his career, so he’ll be a great person to learn from.
I wish all the success to both Sanders and Gabriel because someone is always going to need a quarterback. The Browns may have even picked both because they think someone could trade for one of them down the line.
As someone who played defensive back, what do you think of the fit between Malaki Starks and the Baltimore Ravens?
When it comes to the NFL Draft, it’s all about fit. Malaki Starks and the Baltimore Ravens are the perfect fit.
That young man has so much talent, and his attitude will suit that city and team, who have a rich legacy of having elite defensive players.
He fits the Baltimore culture to a T. They love good safeties, and they love guys who can hit hard.
People may look at Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry and think the Ravens are an offensive team, but not so fast.
Baltimore is a defensive-minded team and city. They love to force their will on teams and win the battle of attrition because they know defense wins championships.
He also fits that system perfectly. He’s able to do so many things on the field. He’s a great tackler who has great range and can travel from sideline to sideline. He can also blitz really well, which is Baltimore’s forte.
Adding Starks to a secondary that already has Kyle Hamilton means the Ravens are going to be phenomenal on the back end. If you have two great safeties, it helps a lot in today’s game, as they can bail you out because they can do so many different things.
So, the pick fits the Ravens’ character and is just a great selection from them.
Which NFL team has impressed you the most with their offseason activity and why?
The Buccaneers. They got a great receiver in the 1st Round to add to an already great receiving group. They added two cornerbacks and a linebacker (Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, & David Walker) with their next three picks, which were all positions of great need.
While it’s hard to say if all these picks will work out, they definitely did a good job of picking players in positions they needed. Hopefully, they turn out to be the correct choice.
Baker Mayfield is coming off arguably his best ever year, and they managed to restructure his contract while keeping hold of Godwin too.
So, I think the Bucs had a great offseason because I watched them a lot and I could see what their needs were, and they did a great job filling those needs.
Quinn Ewers was drafted in the 7th Round by the Miami Dolphins. What do you think about this fit for the Dolphins?
I watched Ewers play a lot in Texas. He had some big wins against teams who were stacked on defense.
Some of these college teams recently had multiple players getting drafted in the first two rounds, and Ewers has played against these players and beat some of them too.
He’s already played in the spotlight. What’s bigger than playing college football as a quarterback in Texas?
He may be unhappy with being a 7th-round pick, but he may actually be in a great situation. He’s going to play in Miami where the weather is hot and mostly beautiful.
They have great receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. A great running back in De’Von Achane. The current quarterback is Tua Tagovailoa, who has missed a lot of time in the last couple of years.
So, if Ewers can do well at OTAs, training camp, and in the preseason, he could potentially work his way up to being the backup quarterback at the Dolphins.
I hope Tua doesn’t get hurt, and I would never wish that on a player, but if he was to get hurt again, the Dolphins have a player in Ewers who already has experience playing in big moments in big stadiums. Don’t be surprised if Ewers comes in and looks fine.
We’ve seen this happen before too. Look at New England in 2001. They had Drew Bledsoe, who was the Pro Bowl franchise quarterback. He gets hurt and the 6th-round pick from the year before (Tom Brady) comes in and plays lights out.
As a defensive back who won Super Bowl MVP, who do you view as the best defensive back in today’s game?
As a safety, Antoine Winfield Jr.
He was injured last year, but when he’s healthy, he’s an All-Pro. Sacks, interceptions, big hits, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered…he can do it all.
If he can get back to the level he was playing at in 2023, he’ll be the best safety in the NFL. The Bucs offense will put up points, which means as a safety on the other side, you’re going to have the opportunity to make splash plays, like interceptions, while other offenses try to keep up.
As a cornerback, it’s hard to go against Sauce Gardner. He’s 6’3”, which means he can be eye to eye with most of the bigger elite receivers in the game. It’s hard to outrun him, and it’s almost impossible to outjump him, so he is the best cornerback in the NFL.
To be that big at 6’3“ and still be so fluid with your hips so you can turn and run quickly, that’s incredible. That’s freak athleticism. He reminds me of legendary bigger corners such as Mel Blount and Bobby Taylor.
Gardner can follow any receiver around without having to worry about a size problem.
You won Super Bowl XXXVII and were named Super Bowl MVP. Do you have any cool memories from this time?
This is a true story and was recorded on tape. The night before Super Bowl XXXVII, we were having a team meeting. Once we were finished, I told the team reporter to turn the camera on before telling him that I was going to be the MVP of the game. I had a premonition as clear as day. I saw it all, including getting those interceptions.
The reporter asked why I was so confident in this premonition. When you look at my history in Tampa, I always had a great game against the elite quarterbacks such as Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, who weren’t afraid of our defense.
So, when I realized we were playing against Rich Gannon, I knew he liked to throw the ball vertically, which would give me an opportunity to make some plays. So many other quarterbacks were so afraid of our defense that they would just dink and dunk.
So, after taking all that into account, I had a vision that I would be the MVP, and it came true.
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