Overview

Position: EDGE

College: Arkansas

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 264 lbs.

Arm length: 33 1/4″

Hand size: 10”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.68 sec.

10-yard split: 1.65 sec.

Vertical jump: 40.5”

Broad jump: 129.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Tremendous overall size and length. Strong and well-built frame. Excellent strength. Very explosive and athletic. Tremendous acceleration on a straight path. Long strider with outstanding speed in space. Very rangy tackler with burst to close. Heavy hands when extending to shed early. Engages with two hands and will disengage to tackle. Strong pushing back blockers and making the tackle. Excellent technique to keep outside positioning setting the edge on outside runs. Forces runs back inside. Will hold outside leverage and dart inside to tackle. Strong with a wide base to hold his spot in general. Keeps positioning at the point of attack even if pinned down based on play design. Instinctive to finish in the backfield. Very physical slanting down. Can lay out tight ends in his path on cross-formation blocks when crashing down. Strong and uses his hands to engage inside versus pullers. Stays wide with good technique breaking down as the backside defender. Great burst off the ball. Shows quality bend on the speed rush when he gets a jump at the snap. Accelerates around the corner after getting a step. Closes on the quarterback in a hurry with size and athleticism. Exceptional pursuit to track and finish in the pocket. Able to jolt back offensive tackles as a rusher when he extends accurately. Hands are very quick on swipe moves. Impressive upper body fluidity in general on swipes and swim moves. Quick inside move at the snap. Has an inside start to outside counter when shaded on the inside shoulder of offensive tackles. Shows an outside spin counter on inside rushes. Very good quickness and fluidity for his size on stunts. Showed a great rip move versus top LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell (2024). Experience with his hand in the dirt and standing up. Used on both sides of the formation. Has experienced shaded inside. Tremendous length to reach up for deflections. Used on short zone drops.

 

Weaknesses

Loses coordination far too easily and ends up on the ground too much. Knocked off balance by contact. Controlled too easily when blockers attach. Susceptible to pulldown moves. Has some trouble evading blockers and unleashing to the ball. Stiffness in movements as a rusher. Stiffness can prevent him from finishing versus quicker quarterbacks. Want to see him play with more power and explosiveness considering his combination of size and athleticism.

 

NFL comparison

Keion White

 

Conclusion

Overall, Jackson is a physically imposing edge defender with length, range, explosiveness, and the ability to finish with force. Issues with balance and getting knocked around at his size are concerns, though, so Jackson still needs polishing to reach his ceiling.

 

Big Board ranking: #87 | Positional ranking: #13