Jackson is a native of the Fifth Ward area of Houston, Texas. Jackson attended Wheatley High School in Houston, where he was teammates with future NFL cornerback Xavien Howard on the school's football team. Jackson was considered a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He accepted a scholarship to play college football at the University of Houston.
With a deep cornerback class going into the combine, many analysts were more focused on Vernon Hargreaves III, Jalen Ramsey, and Mackensie Alexander, regarding them as the top players at their position and had Jackson as a second round selection. Jackson attended the NFL Combine and displayed an amazing performance. His performance boosted his draft stock rise and entered him in the discussion as one of the top cornerback prospects in the draft. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish all the drills at the combine after suffering cramps. On March 31, 2016, Jackson attended Houston's Pro Day and completed his combine drills and performed positIonal drills for scouts and representatives from 31 NFL teams. The majority of analysts had Jackson projected to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers after general managerKevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin attended his workout in person. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jackson was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, the third best cornerback by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the fourth best cornerback by Sports Illustrated and ESPN.
2016
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Jackson in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Jackson was the fourth cornerback drafted in 2016. On June 10, 2016, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Jackson to a four-year, $9.07 million rookie contract with $8.71 million guaranteed. Throughout training camp, Jackson competed to be the Bengals' third cornerback on the depth chart against Darqueze Dennard. On August 2, 2016, it was announced that Jackson had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and would have to undergo surgery. On September 4, 2016, the Cincinnati Bengals officially placed Jackson on injured reserve. He remained on injured reserve for the entire 2016 NFL season.
2017
During training camp, Jackson competed against Darqueze Dennard and Josh Shaw to be the third cornerback on the Bengals' depth chart. Head coachMarvin Lewis named Jackson the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones, and Darqueze Dennard. He made his debut in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and made two solo tackles and a pass deflection in their 20–0 loss. Jackson made his first career tackle on wide receiver Breshad Perriman during a five-yard reception in the first quarter. On September 23, 2017, Jackson recorded four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown in the Bengals' 27–24 overtime loss at the Green Bay Packer's. Jackson intercepted a pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, that was originally intended for wide receiver Jordy Nelson, and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He became just the second player after then Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tanard Jackson in 2009 to record an interception return for a touchdown against Aaron Rodgers. In Week 7, Jackson earned his first career start after Adam Jones was inactive due to a back injury. Jackson finished the Bengals' 29–14 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers with a solo tackle and two pass deflections. On November 12, 2017, he recorded two solo tackles and made his first career sack during a 24–20 loss at the Tennessee Titans in Week 10. Jackson sacked Titans' quarterback Marcus Mariota for a seven-yard loss on the third quarter. He was inactive for the Bengals' Week 11 victory at the Denver Broncos due to a toe injury. Jackson became a starting cornerback for the Bengals' in Week 14 after Adam Jones was placed on injured reserve due to a groin injury. In Week 15, he collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 34–7 loss at the Minnesota Vikings. Jackson finished the 2017 season with 27 combined tackles, 14 pass deflections, a sack, an interception, and a touchdown in 15 games and five starts. Pro Football Focus gave Jackson an overall grade of 89.2, which ranked eighth among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017.
2018
Throughout training camp, Jackson competed against Darqueze Dennard to be a starting cornerback. Head coach Marvin Lewis named Jackson and Dre Kirkpatrick the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.
2019
On April 24, 2019, the Bengals picked up the fifth-year option on Jackson's contract. In week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson recorded his first interception of the season off Jimmy Garoppolo in the 41-17 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2019 with a shoulder injury. He finished the season with 37 tackles, three passes defensed and one interception through 14 games and 13 starts.
Career statistics
Regular Season
Personal life
Jackson was raised by his mother, Vanessa Hailey, and grew up in Houston's Fifth Ward. He has three sisters and one brother.
