William Jackson III

On April 24, 2019, the Bengals picked up the fifth-year option on Jackson's contract. In week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson recorded his first interception of the season off Jimmy Garoppolo in the 41-17 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2019 with a shoulder injury. He finished the season with 37 tackles, three passes defensed and one interception through 14 games and 13 starts.

He made his debut in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and made two solo tackles and a pass deflection in their 20–0 loss. Jackson made his first career tackle on wide receiver Breshad Perriman during a five-yard reception in the first quarter. On September 23, 2017, Jackson recorded four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown in the Bengals' 27–24 overtime loss at the Green Bay Packer's. Jackson intercepted a pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, that was originally intended for wide receiver Jordy Nelson, and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He became just the second player after then Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tanard Jackson in 2009 to record an interception return for a touchdown against Aaron Rodgers. In Week 7, Jackson earned his first career start after Adam Jones was inactive due to a back injury. Jackson finished the Bengals' 29–14 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers with a solo tackle and two pass deflections. On November 12, 2017, he recorded two solo tackles and made his first career sack during a 24–20 loss at the Tennessee Titans in Week 10. Jackson sacked Titans' quarterback Marcus Mariota for a seven-yard loss on the third quarter. He was inactive for the Bengals' Week 11 victory at the Denver Broncos due to a toe injury. Jackson became a starting cornerback for the Bengals' in Week 14 after Adam Jones was placed on injured reserve due to a groin injury. In Week 15, he collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 34–7 loss at the Minnesota Vikings. Jackson finished the 2017 season with 27 combined tackles (21 solo), 14 pass deflections, a sack, an interception, and a touchdown in 15 games and five starts. Pro Football Focus gave Jackson an overall grade of 89.2, which ranked eighth among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017.

On March 31, 2016, Jackson attended Houston's Pro Day and completed his combine drills and performed positIonal drills for scouts and representatives from 31 NFL teams. The majority of analysts had Jackson projected to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers after general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin attended his workout in person. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jackson was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, the third best cornerback by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the fourth best cornerback by Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Jackson in the first round (24th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Jackson was the fourth cornerback drafted in 2016.

On June 10, 2016, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Jackson to a four-year, $9.07 million rookie contract with $8.71 million guaranteed.

Throughout training camp, Jackson competed to be the Bengals' third cornerback on the depth chart against Darqueze Dennard. On August 2, 2016, it was announced that Jackson had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and would have to undergo surgery. On September 4, 2016, the Cincinnati Bengals officially placed Jackson on injured reserve. He remained on injured reserve for the entire 2016 NFL season.

Jackson attended Trinity Valley Community College for his freshman year, before enrolling at the University of Houston for his sophomore year. As a senior, he broke up 23 passes and had five interceptions in the 2015 season.

William Jackson III (born October 27, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Bengals in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Houston.