Kareem Jackson was overwhelmed. After nine years in Houston, where he was a first-round draft pick and a staple in the Texans’ defensive backfield, he suddenly found himself on a private jet bound for Centennial, Colo., and facing many firsts. Sitting next to him were two of his newest teammates, Ja’Wuan James and Joe Flacco, and awaiting them all were the remnants of the Bomb Cyclone blizzard.



Jackson signed a contract with the Broncos the next day, and was introduced to local media by his new boss as the guy who “welcomed Phillip Lindsay to the NFL.” Jackson landed a massive hit on Lindsay in the Texans’ win in Denver last year that resembled the one he placed on Minnesota’s Jarius Wright in 2012.



Jackson ranked the two as “1A and 1B” in his career. But he expected that list to grow in Denver.



“I’m looking for hits like that,” he told reporters that day in March. “It could be plays like...