Stokley: For Jackson’s sake, Broncos need to get Harris deal done

During the Denver Broncos voluntary veteran minicamp this week, new team addition Kareem Jackson spent his time working at safety.

On Thursday, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio explained that because Jackson, who landed in Denver this offseason after playing nine seasons with the Houston Texans, mostly played cornerback during his career and needed reps at safety.

“We played him at safety in this camp, for the reason that there’s more to learn at safety than there is at corner,” Fangio said. “He’s played much more corner in his career, so I wanted him to get more work in this camp — all of his work — at the safety position, to feel comfortable there.”

With Jackson’s versatility, Fangio said the goal if for Jackson to be ready to play anything in the defensive backfield.

“He’ll be out there somewhere. Where? I don’t know. And I’m being honest with you,” Fangio said.

“Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said that versatility is what makes Jackson so valuable for the Broncos, “because he can play safety, he can play corner, he can play nickel, he can play all over the football field.

“You could probably put him down in the box if you want to play dime and make him a linebacker in passing situations,” Stokley said.

But, the Broncos will likely need to rely on Jackson more at cornerback if the contract dispute between the club and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. doesn’t get resolved quickly, Stokley said.

“… If you want to be the best Broncos defense you want guys that can play all over the football field. And with certain matchups against certain teams, you know what we want to do? We want to play Kareem Jackson at safety this game,” Stokley said. “You can’t do that without Chris Harris. You’re going to need Kareem Jackson playing cornerback.

Stokley said the idea of Jackson playing all across the field made him think that Denver’s got to “find a way” to get the contract situation with Harris resolved — preferably sooner rather than later.

“… If you want to be the best possible defense that you can be, certainly, the addition of Chris Harris helps a lot. But also, it’s going to help a guy Kareem Jackson,” Stokley said. “And it’s going to help a guy like Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell calling these defenses when you have guys who can play multiple positions.

“It gives your defense a lot of flexibility. You’ll be a better defense because of that. And you’ve got to figure out a way to get this contract situation resolved.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.