Following high school, Jackson attended Fork Union Military Academy, where he converted from running back to cornerback.

[5] Sports Illustrated also listed him as the fourth-best cornerback in the draft, behind Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, and Devin McCourty.

[12] The former made his professional regular season debut in Houston's season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts, recording four solo tackles and a pass deflection in the 34–24 victory.

On October 10, he recorded five solo tackles and his first career interception off quarterback Eli Manning, returning it for 23 yards in the 34–10 loss to the New York Giants.

In Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers, he made six combined tackles and intercepted quarterback Philip Rivers in a 29–23 loss.

[16] Jackson entered training camp in 2011 competing with Johnathan Joseph, Jason Allen, and Brice McCain to retain the starting cornerback position.

New defensive coordinator Wade Phillips named Jackson the left cornerback to start the regular season opposite newly-signed Joseph.

Allen showed good coverage, played well, and made a game-sealing interception in a 17–10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4; Jackson was inactive for this game.

He finished the season with 42 combined tackles (37 solo), a forced fumble, an interception, and six deflected passes in 15 games with 13 starts.

[14] Houston finished first in the AFC South with a 12-4 record, but were eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the New England Patriots in the Divisional round.

The next week, he made two solo tackles and intercepted rookie quarterback Derek Carr, returning it 65 yards, in a 30–14 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

He finished the first season under the Texans' new head coach Bill O'Brien with 56 combined (46 solo) tackles, nine pass deflections, and three interceptions in 13 games with as many starts.

[28] On November 29, he returned and made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees in a 24–6 victory.

2016, he made three solo tackles, intercepted quarterback Blake Bortles, and returned it for a 27-yard game-sealing touchdown as the Texans routed the Jaguars 30–6.

In the AFC wild card game, Jackson made seven combined tackles and deflected a pass as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 30–0.

[30] On November 13, 2016, Jackson recorded six solo tackles and intercepted quarterback Bortles, returning it for a 42-yard touchdown in a 24–21 victory over the Jaguars.

[14] After the Texans finished first in the AFC South with a 9–7 record (for the second consecutive season), Jackson made four combined tackles in a 27–14 Wild Card Round victory over the Oakland Raiders.

They went on to the Divisional Round, where Houston lost 34–16 to the Super Bowl LI-winning New England Patriots; Jackson made another four combined tackles in the game.

On September 14, Jackson caused Cincinnati Bengals' rookie wide receiver John Ross to fumble, which teammate Jadeveon Clowney recovered and returned for 49 yards to set up the Texans' offense on a field goal scoring drive.

[33] In the offseason following organized team activities, HC O'Brien announced that Jackson would be moved to free safety full-time.

[34] The move was made after Jackson's struggles at cornerback the previous season, and starting free safety Andre Hal was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

[39] In Week 14 against his former team, the Texans, Jackson recorded 11 tackles, intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback Deshaun Watson, and received a lateral from teammate Jeremiah Attaochu via a fumble made by wide receiver Keke Coutee; Jackson returned the ball for a 70-yard touchdown during the 38–24 win, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

In Week 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jackson recovered a fumble lost by tight end Darren Waller and later intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback Derek Carr in a narrow 32–31 loss.

[44][45] In Week 2 against the Jaguars, he recorded an interception and a pass deflection off quarterback Trevor Lawrence in a 23–13 win; teammate and first-round rookie Patrick Surtain II was able to make the same two plays.

[48] In a Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders, he was ejected after an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit against tight end Logan Thomas, resulting in the latter getting a concussion.

[51] The league issued him a fine for $43,709, Jackson's fourth for the season, for unnecessary roughness stemming from a late hit on the Thursday Night Football loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

[52] Following his second ejection that season in a Week 7 win for a hit on Green Bay Packers' tight end Luke Musgrave ("defenseless receiver"), the NFL suspended Jackson for four games.

[54] In his first game back from suspension, Jackson made an illegal hit on Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

[62] Jackson was elevated from the practice squad on December 14 ahead of the Bills' 48-42 victory over the Detroit Lions, and recorded a combined 3 tackles from 32 snaps.