Over the following few months, we’ll be breaking down all the rookies added by the Jets in the course of the draft and as undrafted free brokers. We proceed immediately with defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr.
The 22-year previous Jackson is listed at 6’5” and 315 kilos and was a fourth spherical select of FSU. He began 38 video games at three totally different colleges in his school profession, and was a two-time all-ACC honorable point out.
Jackson was a 3 star highschool recruit, who initially headed to Maryland the place he began one sport for them in his freshman yr and ended the season with 22 tackles.
Having transferred to Miami, he began all 12 video games in 2022 and had 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Nevertheless, he then determined to switch once more to be nearer to his mom as she handled some well being points, this time to Florida State. Sadly, he was pressured to sit down out the complete common season attributable to switch guidelines when a hardship waiver request was denied. Regardless of this ruling, Jackson was eligible to play within the workforce’s bowl sport, which he began, recording three tackles.
For the following two seasons, Jackson was a full time starter and earned an all-ACC honorable point out in annually. He had 32 tackles and three.5 sacks in 2024 however just one sack in 2025. Nevertheless, he did have a profession excessive with 45 tackles.
Having been invited to the scouting mix and impressed at Senior Bowl week, Jackson was chosen by the Jets within the fourth spherical, which was about the place most analysts had pegged his worth.
Let’s transfer onto some extra in-depth evaluation of what Jackson brings to the desk, based mostly on in-depth analysis and movie research.
Jackson was initially listed at 274 kilos when his school profession started however he had bulked as much as 337 by final yr. Nevertheless, in pre-draft testing, he weighed in at 315 kilos.
That weigh-in was vital as a result of it was precisely the identical because the taking part in weight for former professional bowl defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson when he was with the Jets.
The similarities don’t cease there, although. Every of them has excellent size. Jackson’s 86-inch wingspan is the longest in scouting mix historical past for a defensive deal with and whereas Wilkerson’s wingspan was shorter, his arms had been even longer – the seventh longest for any defensive deal with within the historical past of the mix.
Whether or not Jackson is as athletic as Wilkerson is one other matter. As a consequence of damage the one testing he was capable of do was a vertical leap at his professional day which was really virtually precisely the identical as Wilkerson’s, however poor. Wilkerson had additionally posted excellent pace and agility and stable power numbers which Jackson seemingly wouldn’t have matched.
Having mentioned that, there may be footage on-line of Jackson dunking a basketball at 330 kilos and he seems to be sturdy and explosive in his sport movie at instances.
We are going to mirror extra on the Wilkerson comparability later…
Jackson’s first season at Maryland noticed him taking part in as a 5-technique defensive finish, however then he moved to defensive deal with for the remainder of his profession. In his remaining season, he took extra reps as a nostril deal with.
In highschool, he performed each as a defensive finish and defensive deal with, in addition to on offense at tight finish.
Jackson is considered having a relentless motor and battles onerous within the trenches. On this play, he showcases his relentless hustle.
He’s able to dealing with a starter’s workload, which he did recurrently in school. He performed 66 snaps in a single sport final yr however his highest snap depend was 68 in a 2022 sport.
Jackson wasn’t notably productive as a cross rusher with simply 7.5 profession sacks, however his strain fee in 2024 was stable.
In 2025, he solely had one sack and his strain fee halved, however this was influenced by the actual fact he lined up within the A-gap extra recurrently and presumably noticed considerably extra double groups. That lone sack got here in opposition to East Texas A&M.
He’s nonetheless determining the way to use his size successfully to get previous his man, however there are indicators of this over the previous yr or two.
Jackson recurrently demonstrates good energy and the power to break down the pocket as a bull rusher, although.
Jackson was a stable run defender and his efficiency analytics counsel 2025 was his most constant yr in that space regardless of, or maybe due to, the transfer to nostril deal with.
When he takes on blocks aggressively, he had the instruments to probably be able to two-gapping and taking part in learn/react. Nevertheless, he doesn’t all the time accomplish that persistently.
Jackson may also shoot gaps, holds his floor on the level of assault and penetrates to bottle up runs.
Jackson generally is a little mechanical in his actions and must appropriate points along with his hand quickness and his base and pad degree.
The actual fact Jackson’s foremost weaknesses are technique-related is a probably thrilling factor to listen to. With Karl Dunbar again as a defensive position coach, Jackson ought to obtain first-rate teaching which is able to hopefully imply he realizes his full potential, very similar to gamers equivalent to Sione Po’uha and Mike DeVito did below Dunbar.
In any case, he does possess some good cross dashing instruments with the power to free himself from a block with an arm-over transfer, transition right into a rip and execute a bull-jerk transfer.
His size is such a weapon and the guide on him is that he doesn’t take advantage of this. Nevertheless, he’s exhibiting good indicators of a capability to get full extension when taking over blocks or utilizing a long-arm transfer.
Whereas Jackson hasn’t recorded a blocked kick or deal with on particular groups, he has contributed on a number of items with out errors or penalties. He rushed kicks and punts and was a blocker in punt safety throughout his profession.
Jackson’s manufacturing as a tackler was on the rise on the finish of his profession, as he developed the power to ensnare ball carriers in his lengthy arms even when taking over blocks.
His missed deal with depend additionally greater than halved from 9 in 2024 to simply 4 final season. Apparently, lower than half of the 13 missed tackles over the previous two seasons had been within the working sport, so clearly he may have had extra sacks and wishes to complete higher in these conditions.
He had one pressured fumble in his profession.
Jackson solely dropped into protection a handful of instances in his school profession, with almost all of these coming final season. He wasn’t focused in protection in his profession however did deflect two passes on the line.
Jackson’s block recognition may maybe be higher at instances, however he shows first step off his pre-snap learn and in addition reads and reacts nicely whereas shifting laterally.
He shows good instincts when it comes to sniffing out display passes and never being fooled by misdirection.
Jackson turned issues round for himself after having been expelled from center faculty after getting in with the fallacious crowd and having some behavioral points. Optimistic mentoring in highschool helped him get recruited to Maryland and he’s clearly matured so much since then.
At FSU he turned a workforce captain and two-time winner of the Bobby Bowden Management Award. He led by instance in a defensive position room the place everybody held one another accountable, and demonstrated good consistency by means of preparation and planning.
His on-field self-discipline was good, with simply six profession penalties, together with only one final season.
Jackson’s uncle Dexter was a former Tremendous Bowl MVP.
Accidents weren’t a difficulty for Jackson throughout his school profession, as he solely missed video games as a result of switch guidelines and sitting out his remaining season bowl sport.
He did, nonetheless, have a groin damage that restricted him in the course of the pre-draft course of.
Aaron Glenn has already mentioned that Jackson may play a flexible position with the Jets. Whereas many had him pegged as a nostril deal with attributable to his listed weight and position final season, he’s really anticipated to line up throughout, together with as a 5-technique and perhaps whilst a strongside edge in four-man fronts.
This brings us again to Wilkerson, who was a 5-technique initially for the Jets, however had his most efficient season as a full-time edge. Once more, whether or not Jackson has the identical type of athleticism and agility to do the identical is open for debate, however no less than it’s an archetype for him to aspire to.
Jackson was a teammate of present Jets participant Azareye’h Thomas at Florida State and his fellow draft choose Anez Cooper at Miami.
Whereas this isn’t a slam dunk choose, as a result of Jackson must preserve engaged on his quickness, power and method, this was a range with a excessive upside.
The similarities to Wilkerson are unimaginable to disregard and the truth that Jackson will probably be working below Dunbar, who little question was concerned within the choice, means he has the proper instructor to optimise his skill-set and masks any weaknesses. The size and his move-set are each traits it has been widespread to see in Dunbar’s costs through the years, so he has basis to construct from.
From the sport movie, it’s not instantly apparently that Jackson is stylistically much like Wilkerson, who was so sleek despite his dimension whereas Jackson might be extra robotic in his actions in sure conditions. Nevertheless, his movie is extra rounded and spectacular than marketed and he could also be trying to develop the same fashion to Wilkerson over time if he desires to maximise the excellent size at his disposal.
Whereas Jackson turning out to be a participant that’s anyplace close to pretty much as good as Wilkerson is probably going a pipe dream, the possibilities of him with the ability to be efficient in the identical type of position and subsequently glorious worth within the fourth spherical are excessive … particularly with Dunbar closely concerned.
