Matthew Coller: How Theo Jackson became one of the 'Four Horsemen' of the Vikings

Once a depth pickoff from Tennessee, Jackson has become a key member of the defense...

Theo Jackson / Minnesota Vikings

EAGAN — When Theo Jackson was drafted in the sixth round by the Tennessee Titans in 2022, it seemed like a perfect fit. He was from Overton, Tennessee and played his entire college career for the Tennessee Volunteers. The guy is more Tennessee than Dolly Parton and Smokey.

“I live 15 minutes away from here,” Jackson said laughing in a press conference with the Titans media shortly after he was picked.

Six months after being selected by his hometown team, the Vikings signed him off Tennessee’s practice squad to replace first-round rookie Lewis Cine, who suffered a severe leg injury. Jackson suddenly found himself far from home and lost inside the cavernous hallways of TCO Performance Center. The first snowfall of the year hit the ground three days after he arrived. It was a bit of culture shock for him.

“This place is so big, I was like a guinea pig walking around here,” Jackson said following Wednesday’s practice. “That was a funny start for me.”

In his first season in Minnesota, the state had its third highest snow total on record and Jackson played 18 total defensive snaps.

That doesn’t mean he got nothing from the experience though. He played 274 special teams snaps and made an impression on special teams coordinator Matt Daniels.

“When it comes to special teams players that I really look at: Versatility and courage,” Daniels said. “Theo Jackson has exactly those two attributes that you look for.”

Defensive backs coach Daronte Jones also took notice of Jackson’s key attributes. He started to realize that the young safety wasn’t just learning the safety position assignments, he was mastering the entire playbook on his own.

“We didn’t know Theo was also learning all of those positions,” Jones said.

In his first training camp with the Vikings in 2023, Jackson began to stand out and by the end of the summer they knew he could handle anything they asked of him — inside linebacker, nickel, dime, you name it and he could play it if called upon.

“His knowledge of how all the pieces fit together grew and then he started to make plays,” Jones said.

Once a player shows signs of combining high football IQ with playmaking, it’s time to find a spot for them. What defensive coordinator Brian Flores came up with was a position in the “dollar” package with eight DBs on the field and backing up “The Metellus Role.”

“We consider ‘The Metellus Role’ its own position,” Jones said.

Last year Flores concocted a unique role for safety Josh Metellus that could be best described as: Everything everywhere all at once. In 2023 the former Michigan defensive back played over 200 snaps as an outside linebacker, nearly 400 snaps as an inside linebacker, nearly 400 snaps as a slot corner and another 84 plays at either free safety or wide corner.

The defensive staff figured that Metellus’s role was so unique that they needed to have another guy ready in case Metellus had to miss time. So Jackson learned all of the assignments of “The Metellus Role,” which Jones called “a heavy mental load.”

“Now we have two of those guys,” Jones said. “You know how valuable that is?”

For Jackson doing everything everywhere all at once wasn’t a new concept. At Tennessee he was used all over the field as well. Per PFF his college career snap-count split looked very similar to Metellus with 155 on the D-line, 300 in the box, 470 at free safety and 900 in the slot.

“That just carried over into the league and that’s made it easy for me to learn every position now,” Jackson said.

All that work mastering the whole playbook proved to be valuable quickly. In Week 2 against Philadelphia, Metellus got banged up and Jackson went in the game. He immediately picked off quarterback Jalen Hurts by being in the right place at the right time.

“That was huge for him,” Jones said. “That was an accumulation of things leading up to that point, to be out there in Game 2 taking advantage of the opportunity. Just in life, if you get an opportunity, you never know how many you may get and you have to make the most out of it. That’s what he’s doing.”

In total Jackson saw 125 snaps in 2023. This offseason, he’s doing everything he can to force himself onto the field more often. During camp Jackson breaking up or intercepting passes has become a regular occurrence. On Friday afternoon, rookie JJ McCarthy took his first drop-back with the first unit of the summer and it was nearly picked by Jackson. He is forcing Flores and Jones to think of him as more than just “The Metellus Role” backup.

“Going back to when we first met him last year there has been an incredible amount of growth,” Flores said. “An incredible amount of improvement. That’s probably the best term to use for him: Improvement.”

Last season the Vikings were already very strong at the safety position with All-Pro Harrison Smith and ascending safety Cam Bynum. Those two, Metellus and Jackson have gelled together and formed a unique bond. Jackson said that if you see one of them, the other three probably aren’t far behind.

“If you watch our meeting room, they are kind of like the Four Horsemen,” Jones said. “Those four guys sit right next to each other. Harry, Cam, Josh and Theo and those guys are in constant communication, talking as they’re watching tape. ‘How do you see this? I see it that way. We could do this. We could do that.’ I just love hearing that communication.”

The Vikings’ safety room — or “X-Men” as Jones calls them because they are just X’s on the chalkboard that they can move around — is one of the biggest strengths of the defense. With a cornerback group that has already suffered a major injury and new players at outside linebacker (x3), defensive tackle and linebacker, the safeties are a stabilizing force for Flores.

“We lean on that group,” Flores said. “Those are the leaders of the team, that’s our hub of communication. We strive to be a defense that can be multiple and change coverage and front structures and that starts with that group. Between all of them you have a lot of versatility but there’s a toughness, there’s a tenacity and a play style that I love.”

By PFF grade, Smith, Bynum and Metellus all ranked in the top 26 safeties (out of 63) in the NFL and Metellus and Smith were both top five in QB pressures while Bynum led all safeties in tackles and had the third most pass breakups.

“Being in Brian Flores’ defenses, you’ve seen it in the past and when he was in New England how they’d use multiple safety packages back when he had [Patrick] Chung, [Devin] McCourty and those guys,” Jones said. “That’s all we’re really doing here in terms of versatility. When you have guys that can do that it opens up your defense and gives you the option to do so much more.”

Jackson is proving that he can be another one of those types. That’s important for 2024 and going forward. Smith is entering his 13th year and could retire after this season and Bynum is set to become a free agent next offseason. When either player isn’t practicing, Jackson takes their spot, which is what seems likely to happen in 2025 if either doesn’t return.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so now he has to have the responsibility. You can’t make mistakes now, expectations go up,” Jones said. “He’s handled it very well.”

“I like the player he’s becoming and I like his future,” Jones added.