2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Drake Jackson

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NAME: Drake Jackson

POSITION: Defensive End

SCHOOL: USC

HEIGHT: 6’2”

WEIGHT: 254 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Corona, California, Drake Jackson attended Centennial High School. During his junior year of high school football, he recorded 28 tackles, six sacks, three pass deflections, one interception and one forced fumble. That allowed Jackson to earn All-CIF Division I, Riverside Press Enterprise All-Area first team and All-Big VIII League Defensive Lineman of the Year honors for that junior campaign.

As a senior, Jackson had 27 tackles, six pass deflections, five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries. He earned more accolades that season as well. This included being named a 2018 PrepStar All-American, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Division I, Los Angeles Times All-Area, Riverside Press Enterprise All-Area first team and All-Big VIII League Co-MVP. Eventually, Jackson graduated from high school a semester early and made his way to USC for college football.

Three-Year Starter

As a true freshman in 2019, Jackson was a starter in 11 games for the USC defense. He registered 46 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss (team-best), 5.5 sacks (team-high) three pass deflections and a forced fumble. Jackson would earn second-team All-PAC 12 honors for 2019.

2020 was a shortened season, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was still a starter in all six games. In the end, Jackson had 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception. For the second consecutive season, he earned second-team All-PAC 12 honors.

In 2021, Jackson appeared in 11 games and made nine starts for the Trojans. He finished with 37 tackles, eight tackles for loss (team-high), five sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, one interception and one pass deflection. Finally, Jackson earned second-team All-PAC 12 honors for the third straight year.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Length

Jackson has a frame that is quite wiry, rather than being compact or dense. He is able to affect plays in a variety of ways, because of his massive length and reach. Jackson is able to extend his arms early off of the snap. Thus, he is able to create extra time and space for him early on during the rep. He then has numerous options for which to attack opposing offenses. Jackson can either change his track or path to the ball, or he can get on top of opposing blockers and wear them down. He is able to lay a hand on a pass or on a running back, even if he is getting blocked on the other half of his body, due to that large wingspan.

First Step Explosiveness

Firing off of the snap is an area where Jackson has always been comfortable. Yet, he still showed noticeable improvement there, as his USC career grew on. He is just as explosive when coming out of a two-point stance, as he is when coming out of a three-point stance. Jackson has begun to adjust his stature in order to get a more smooth release as well. For example, he demonstrates a more tilted start than he previously had at the snap. Outside of his first step, Jackson is extremely lethal with his long speed. He is able to chase down opponents in all areas of the field with that at his disposal.

Flexibility

Jackson is a pass rusher who can continually work around the edge. And in all honesty, this is where he is most confident and most dangerous. He crashes around the corner with long strides, tremendous speed and springy feet. In those moments, Jackson is able to compact and contort his body around blockers when he wants to. The flexibility does not just show up when it comes to bending as a pass rusher, however. In fact, Jackson displays fluid hips and a tight slicing ability to get in between blockers when rushing vertically up the field. The same thing could be said when he is working through traffic to make run stops in space. Mainly, Jackson proved he could run around and over the top of blockers to get to the ball carrier.

Versatility

There is appeal for Jackson to be a universal scheme fit. He played as both a 4-3 defensive end and as a 3-4 outside linebacker while at USC. As such, Jackson can thrive from a two-point stance and a three-point stance. He can also occasionally produce from a four-point stance. On the other hand, Jackson has sparingly kicked or reduced down inside to 3-tech. He may be best suited for a defensive unit that uses multiple fronts and is comfortable with blitzing at a heavy rate.

Lateral Mobility

This was yet another area in which Jackson appeared to improve in during 2021. For instance, he crossed opponent’s faces more urgently and kept his feet moving more routinely. He also took more adequate angles when running backs or quarterbacks would travel to his side of the formation. Because of the lateral angles he took when going to the sideline, Jackson was able to corral plays and it allowed more chances for teammates to get tackle for loss opportunities. His speed, foot fire and change of direction skills appeared to be much more smooth within the open field more recently as well.

Hand Counters

Stringing moves together has been an inconsistent part of Jackson’s game. He is also rather simple when it comes to his pass rush hand counter moves, as he does not currently have that deep of a repertoire. Nonetheless, there are a few moves that he is comfortable with. Jackson mainly uses a dip and rip move and that is super quick off of the edge. With that, he is able to cover ground quickly when going after the passer. Jackson also has a swipe move that can help create extra time and space for himself. Once in a while, he will throw in a spin move. That move has been a bit up and down in terms of results, though.

Football IQ

There are some lapses in focus in this defender’s game. Jackson can be a bit late to pursue the ball or in working laterally across the opponent’s face. Elsewhere, there are also moments where he is too quick and lacks a certain amount of body control. Jackson can often bite too early on fakes by running backs in space, to boot. There are also instances where he gets his feet going rapidly. But, the opposing blocker is able to catch him before he gets in rhythm. Because of those items, Jackson can sometimes lose balance, or just simply miss open opportunities to make a play. His effort and motor can lead to some tremendous results. However, controlling that more heavily will be a work in progress for Jackson.

Run Defending

First and foremost, he struggles to consistently disengage from blocks. This can be due to a couple of reasons. Jackson lacks the violence and assertiveness that others at his position exude. Or, he is just too concerned in trying to create at the point of attack and spends too much time with wasted movements. Missed tackles have also been an issue in this area, on occasion. On the flip side, Jackson can be rather late to recognize play direction and play flow on certain runs. Reading the blocks and backfield alike more urgently will be needed at the NFL level.

CHIEFS FIT

As he continues to become more polished as an overall defender, the Kansas City Chiefs could see the upside of Drake Jackson and use him mainly as a speed demon and designated as a pass rusher at defensive end. Simply put, Kansas City could greatly benefit from adding a more long, athletic and faster pass rusher. The Chiefs would still have to manage his usage, to a degree. Jackson could lineup in various spots on the defensive line, while also altering from a stand up position to having his hand in the dirt. Knowing how he could rush the passer from different tracks and angles, could very well increase the value of Jackson within the Kansas City defense.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.