William Jackson III eager to validate Bengals' first round selection

The Cincinnati Bengals may have one of the NFL's best cornerback units when the 2016 season begins.

If that ends up being the case, it should involve their first-round selection making a significant impact as a rookie. That's exactly what William Jackson III hopes to do this year while validating the Bengals' decision to spend the 24th overall pick on him.

"I'm just trying to go out there and make a statement, and let them know why they drafted me," Jackson told ESPN's Coley Harvey.

While the Bengals are already deep at corner, Jackson continues to impress in offseason workouts, and veteran corner Adam Jones continues to be one of his biggest fans.

"He's good," Jones said. "The kid is quick as hell, too. He's just got to work on the little stuff. It'll be my job to help him, me and the coaches. And he can be really good. He's got a chance to be really special."

ESPN analyst Louis Riddick recently said that Jackson was one of the rookies he's been hearing great things about recently, and he may end up being the best corner the Bengals Drafted since Johnathan Joseph.

Another name I hear great things about thus far is Bengals CB William Jackson III. Could be best CB they have drafted since J. Joseph '06.

— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) May 28, 2016

It is worth noting that Leon Hall was as good, if not better than Jo-Jo before two Achilles' tendon tears robbed him of several years of his prime, but that's another debate for another day.

The point is that the Bengals have been as good as any NFL team when it comes to drafting first-round corners, so the odds of Jackson being a good one seem to be good based on recent history.

The notion that Jackson may end up being as good, if not better than any of them isn't crazy to think about either, especially when guys like Pro Football Focus think he may be the best corner to come from the 2016 Draft. He's done nothing to dispute that notion in offseason workouts thus far.

While Jackson has yet to even go through a fully-padded NFL practice, he's continuing to show the kind of progress and potential the Bengals were hoping to see when they Drafted him in Round 1 this year.