Joe Jackson Could Be An Impactful Rush End. Can The Redskins Make Him A More Consistent Player?

Joe Jackson, EDGE
School: Miami | Conference: ACC
College Experience: Junior | Age: 21?
Height / Weight: 6-4 / 275 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd or 4th Round
NFL Comparison: Tarell Basham

College Statistics

Player Overview

Joe Jackson was a 4-star recruit from Miami’s own Gulliver Prep. Jackson gave his commitment to Miami relatively early on in the process. Alabama, South Carolina, and Arkansas all made big pushed for him but Jackson never wavered from his initial commitment. Jackson made his way into the starting lineup immediately and posted some impressive numbers his freshman season. He’s gotten great production his whole career and has been one of the building blocks of Miami’s defense over the past three seasons and one of its best and most consistent defensive players. Jackson has always been praised and lauded for his physical traits and overall athletic ability as well as his work ethic. Coaches will be assessing whether he can take next steps and not only maximize his physical abilities but really make strides in the instinctive and mental aspects of his game. He is considered a fringe day 2 pick because of his athletic ability but because of the strides he needs to make early on day 3 sounds about right for him. Jackson was a DL in college and will appeal to 4-3 teams especially but could appeal to 3-4 teams looking for a pure rush end as well.

Strengths

• Good size, length, and speed for the position.
• Flashes speed and power off the edge. When he times his jump right his explosion off the snap can be really nice and he can beat tackles with his initial quickness and keep them beat with his power and length as he collapses the pocket.
• Has a nice rip and swim move that he uses to get swat off blocks. Uses arm length to prevent linemen from recovering. Can close to the ball with good burst and has some nice power behind his hits that can rock ball carriers (5 career forced fumbles).
• If given the time can power his way through blocks with brute force. Tough to move in the run game.

Weaknesses

• Noticeable tight and stiff in his movements and though he has experience dropping back into coverage that is not his game. He’s a defensive end and lacks the versatility of other EDGE prospects in the class.
• Has a hard time working back across blocks when his initial attempts are stopped. He needs to develop more pass rushing moves and come up with a consistent play to disengage himself.
• Slow to react to things happening in the backfield (RPOs, draws, misdirections, etc). Its part instinctual issues and part him playing hesitant and conservative. His field of vision narrows and he can miss out on some big plays.
• Overall production per season has been consistent but his ability to ‘show up’ during sustained stretches in the game comes into question.
• Overall raw player who needs a lot of work technically and will take time to adjust to the speed and higher concepts of the NFL. Upside is based on prototypical traits.

Let’s see his work:

More Joe Jackson videos

How Would He Fit On The Redskins?

While some may see more weaknesses than strengths I want to remind you that there is reason the NFL places such a premium on players and prospects with these size / athletic traits over guys who don’t have that. The belief especially on defense is that these size and trait guys have the unteachable stuff naturally so they can always be taught to see the field better, or learn more technically. This is going to be the approach of most scouts that are assessing Jackson. He isn’t ready to start in the NFL yet but if he gets with the right program and coaching that stuff can be taught and brought out in him. He has the physical tools to be a consistent disruptor in the backfield and has shown flashes of it all through his career. I very much prefer that the Redskins keep Jacksons at DE if they were to draft him. As I have said 1000x already if anyone can teach technique is Tomsula and he is probably one of a handful of position coaches in the NFL who you should have the upmost confidence in to get the most out of a guy like this. If the Redskins try what they have in the past and play Jackson at OLB it would be a mistake. Jackson can learn technique but I question just how much his innate ability to diagnose a play can improve. He may always be that guy that misses out on a few big plays due to slow reaction time even if he can get off blocks. However, he still has the upside a lot of teams are looking for out of a rotational rush end and that may be his bread and butter in the NFL.