D'Qwell Jackson
ILB | (6'0
", 230, 4.78) |
MARYLAND
Scouts Grade: 86
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Strengths: Is an athletic and instinctive ILB prospect that also has experience playing the WLB position. Lacks size but is tough and powerful. At his best vs. the run when he's protected and has room to roam. He has terrific recognition skills and diagnoses things quickly. He will not take a lot of false steps and he gets a great jump on most plays. He takes excellent angles in pursuit. Is quicker than fast but has adequate top-end speed. He shows a closing burst to the ball carrier and is a very sound open field tackler. Shows very good COD skills and the ability to break down and redirect quickly in space. He has good hip explosion and a very powerful upper body. He will force fumbles as a tackler and has a nose for the ball. He is very smooth in his hips and has good range in zone coverage. Possesses the quickness, fluidity and instincts to cover most backs man-to-man out of the backfield. Shows very good ball skills and is a natural playmaker when the ball is in the air. Also shows good instincts and closing burst when turned loose on the blitz.
Weaknesses: He is undersized. Lacks lower body strength. Plays with a narrow base and has trouble taking on iso-blockers. He gives up too much size in the phone booth and does not show the consistent ability to shed after being reached. He has to be covered in order to be effective. He lacks explosive power as a tackler. He has adequate but not elite speed. As a result, he may not be able to slip as many blocks and stay on the move as easily in the NFL as he did in college. He also has some durability issues as an undersized LB who has gone through wrist surgery and missed a game due to a leg injury all in the last year.
Overall: Jackson played as a backup in all 14 games as a true freshman in 2002 and finished with 51 tackles. He emerged as a fulltime starter in 2003 and earned second-team All-ACC honors with a team-high 136 total tackles. As a junior in 2004, he finished with a team-high 123 tackles, including seven TFL, four sacks, two INTs and five PBU. He missed 2005 spring practice after having surgery on his wrist. Jackson was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, when he started all 10 games that he played (missed Temple game with leg injury) and finished with 137 tackles, 6.5 TFL, four sacks and two interceptions. Jackson emerged as an elite linebacker at the WLB position as a sophomore in 2003, he made a seamless transition from WLB to MLB as a junior in 2004, and he took his game to the next level as a returning starter at MLB in 2005. He lacks ideal size and does not have the base to consistently take on blockers in the phone booth. He also has some durability issues that are likely to cause him to slip a bit on draft day. However, Jackson is an instinctive, athletic, quick and powerful linebacker for his size. In our opinion, Jackson shows the physical tools and mental capability to emerge as a starting inside linebacker in the NFL. Even if he's not ready to play a fulltime starting role as a rookie, he has the cover skills to play a nickel linebacker role and he also can contribute by covering kicks on special teams. Jackson should come off the board in the second round of the 2006 draft.