Is Kareem Jackson at safety really the best move for Denver?

The Denver Broncos primarily utilized Kareem Jackson as a safety at their offseason program. Is that the right call in the long run?

The Denver Broncos spent the last few months installing their new programs offensively and defensively, and one of the more eye-opening developments was free agent acquisition Kareem Jackson primarily working at the safety position.

Jackson signed a three-year deal worth $33 million this offseason and it was expected he would come in and give the Broncos a tough, veteran option on one side of the field with Chris Harris Jr. on the other.

Not so fast, apparently.

Jackson has been utilized all over the defensive formation in his career, whether as an outside corner, slot corner, free safety, or box safety. That was never more apparent than this past season when his snaps were split between safety (box and free) at 252, slot corner (328), and wide corner (467) per Pro Football Focus.

That kind of versatility is likely what attracted the Broncos to Jackson in free agency, giving him a pretty hefty contract for his age.

Along with Chris Harris Jr. and now Bryce Callahan as well, the Broncos have a versatile group at the cornerback position and you could add Isaac Yiadom into that mix, as he showed a ton of promise down the stretch of his rookie season.

Is it possible the Broncos plan on having Yiadom and Harris outside with Callahan in the slot and Jackson along with Justin Simmons at the safety position?

If so, where does that leave a guy like Will Parks, who was one of the most improved players on the team last season?

The Broncos will find a way to get their best 11 players on the field at the same time one way or another, and the defense is deep enough that there will be a number of good players on the sideline at any given time, so Parks (or anyone else) will not be alone.

The key is going to be finding which combination is most effective for the Broncos’ base defense, or whatever defense they spend the most time in.

Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell revealed at OTAs that the Broncos’ plan with guys like Jackson and Callahan is to keep teams on their toes.

"“We think it’s a great advantage to have [CB] Bryce Callahan and K-Jack (CB Kareem Jackson). They’ve played the nickel spot. They’ve played the corner spot. You can move them around. We can keep people guessing and it gives us a lot of flexibility to give somebody a rest or if somebody goes down.”Ed Donatell (quotes via Broncos PR)"

So, because Jackson is a veteran and already knows man and zone cover concepts as an outside corner, was his role as a safety in the installation period simply to make sure the Broncos have a person who can organize everyone in the defensive backfield?

That would make a lot of sense.

If Jackson is going to be on the field most of the time, it stands to reason that he would know the majority of the positions defensively and be able to put people where they need to be.

As we saw last season, communication — or lack thereof — in the defensive backfield was detrimental to the Broncos’ hopes of postseason contention. There were far too many big plays allowed by last year’s defense and far too many communication errors to ignore.

While I don’t think a position switch to free safety or box safety is the best option for Jackson, having him available to play those spots with the Broncos’ personnel depth at both corner and safety is a good move for the team and a good sign that the communication will be clear on the back end.