Austin Jackson | OT | USC
Elevator Pitch
Jackson has plenty of physical tools and the upside to develop into a quality starting left tackle at the next level. His length and top-notch athleticism for the position gives him palpable potential, but his lack of technique will cause him problems early in his career. He’s a boom-or-bust prospect whose upside could persuade a team to use a fairly early pick on him.
Vitals
Height | 6-5
Weight | 322
Strengths
There’s a lot to be intrigued about when evaluating Jackson’s prospects at the next level.
A lengthy tackle with a long wingspan and solid bulk, Jackson certainly looks the part of a starting left tackle in the NFL. He has an athletic frame that has room to pack on even more muscle. His long arms alone give him considerable range as a blocker, but his athletic ability aids that range even more so. Jackson is a smooth lateral mover who plays with promising quickness and great nimbleness in his feet when he moves. He has good counter agility and blocks with good body control.
Jackson accelerates well to the second level and takes good angles to defenders in down-blocking situations, giving him plenty of upside in zone schemes. He has flashed some potential in terms of his hand usage, as he can pack a powerful punch at the point of attack at times, and he has shown that he can play with quick hands when countering finesse moves.
Weaknesses
He has plenty of physical talents, but Jackson has quite a bit of work to do from a technical standpoint. His pad level needs some polishing, as he struggles with sinking his hips into contact and maintaining leverage consistently. He is guilty of lunging at times and can be knocked off balance fairly easily as a result of his own technical flaws.
Jackson doesn’t play with consistent hand placement yet and can get better at using his hands with more precision. They can also be a little bit quicker, as he can be a bit late to execute punches at times. He doesn’t have much of a nasty edge in his game yet, and he could be aided by adding a bit more power in his lower body to get better at driving defenders backwards.
Projection: 2nd Round
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