Darrell Jackson impressed scouts and spectators during Senior Bowl practices. Time to sort through the early top league fits for the Seminoles star.
Darrell Jackson Jr. showed a clear disdain for offensive linemen by displaying his impressive power during Senior Bowl practices.
That power combined with his height are now drawing early NFL attention.
Turns out Jackson already spoke with one league franchise. But we got to thinking about which teams look like early fits for the Florida State star nose tackle.
The first one made a recent postseason run.
Carolina Panthers
Multiple reports revealed the NFC South champs and Jackson spoke.
Carolina can certainly use the massive 6-foot-5, 337-pounder in the middle of its defense.
The Panthers ranked 20th against the run. That includes allowing a pair of two 200-yard games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
Meanwhile, Carolina loses three defensive linemen to free agency this spring -- further boosting Jackson's chances to land here.
Cincinnati Bengals
This feels obvious for the following reason -- the Bengals' 32nd ranking versus the run.
With that stat line, Cincy has no choice but to beef up the defense.
Jackson shows rare gap shooting quickness that fills running lanes right away. He then turns up the intensity once engaged with a blocker.
Jackson can divert running plays and swallow running backs by coming here.
Chicago Bears
The Bears are another playoff team needed new muscle inside.
Chicago fell to 27th versus the ground attack. Including the playoffs, only five teams got bottled to under 100 yards facing this Bears front line.
Even if the NFC North champs address defense on night one of the draft, Chicago still needs to lure in extra defenders -- especially those with a run-stuffing resume like Jackson.
Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore has long thrived on leaning into a defensive identity, even in the era of Lamar Jackson.
New head coach Jesse Minter brings a defensive pedigree. He also has a history of using IDLs with massive girth -- a la Mazi Smith at Michigan and then Poona Ford.
Minter needs a true IDL and nose. Jackson looks ideal in Charm City.
Las Vegas Raiders
All signs point to Klint Kubiak becoming the head coach in Sin City soon. He'll need to find a new defensive coordinator with Patrick Graham heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That also means addressing interior defensive help come April.
Jackson can boost the middle and make up for Christian Wilkins' loss.
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