Donte Jackson (American football)

Donte Jackson (born November 8, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU.

Early years
Jackson attended Riverdale High School in Jefferson, Louisiana. He committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.

College career
Jackson played at LSU from 2015 to 2017 under head coaches Les Miles and Ed Orgeron. After his junior season in 2017, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. During his career he had 110 tackles, four interceptions and one sack. Jackson was an accomplished sprinter on LSU's track and field team. He has personal bests of 6.63 and 10.22 in the 60 and 100 meters, respectively. He was named the fastest player in college football in 2017.

Professional career
On January 9, 2018, Jackson released a statement on his Twitter account announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and performed the majority of drills before developing cramps. Jackson's 40-yard dash tied Tulane's Parry Nickerson and Ohio State's Denzel Ward for the best time among all players at the NFL Combine.

On April 4, 2018, Jackson participated at LSU's pro day and performed the 40-yard dash (4.31s), 20-yard dash (2.54s), (1.54s), vertical jump (37"), and broad jump (10'2"). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and NFL analyst Mike Mayock.

The Carolina Panthers selected Jackson in the second round (55th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the sixth cornerback drafted in 2018.

On May 10, 2018, the Carolina Panthers signed Jackson to a four-year, $4.81 million contract that includes $2.27 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.58 million. In Week 2, against the Atlanta Falcons, he recorded his first career interception. In Week 3, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson recorded two interceptions in the 31–21 victory.