Donte Jackson’s on a roll

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson’s playing extremely well at the moment, and Panthers head coach Matt Rhule can’t wait to talk about it.

In fact, Rhule was asked a question about Stephon Gilmore’s increased workload, and he shifted pretty quickly into praising his other standout corner.

Jackson had an interception early in last week’s win over the Cardinals, but Rhule was impressed with the way he shrugged off a pass interference call in the second half.

“Donte played as well a game as I’ve seen,” Rhule said. “He got beat on one play, they threw a pass interference, and I walked up to him, few plays later, said that’s what I love about you, when I first got here that might have affected you, . . .

“Donte’s level of play, the level of ‘what’s next’ in his brain, the maturity is so unique. He’s a competitor. And when you guy that size who’s covering the way he’s covering, picking balls off, at the same time tackling, it’s really impressive to watch.”

Rhule then caught himself, and apologized for forgetting what the question was actually about.

But Jackson has been that good this year. He leads the team with eight passes defensed, with a pair of interceptions. That gives him 12 picks in his career, the most of any player in his draft class.