NFL Draft: The Long Wait Is Almost Over For Cal Linebacker Jackson Sirmon

Sirmon believes he's done all he can to prepare for the NFL but has no idea how he fits into the draft.

Jackson Sirmon feels good about his prospects to play in the NFL. But as he waits out the final few days before this weekend’s draft, he admits having no clue how he fits into that picture.

“I’ve got no idea, man. I wish I did,” the 24-year-old former Cal inside linebacker said this week. “You hear things but you don’t know how reliable they are. There’s a lot of people talking that probably don’t know anything.”

The NFL Draft begins Thursday with the first round, continues Friday with second- and third-round picks and closes out Saturday with selections from the fourth through seventh rounds.

Sirmon most likely will be chosen Saturday, but he also could go undrafted, at which point he almost certainly will sign a free-agent contract to try to make a roster.

At least one mock draft projects Sirmon to possibly be Mr. Irrelevant on Saturday.

The only other Cal player in the mix is cornerback Patrick McMorris, who attended the NFL combine tryout camp but reportedly did not perform well. McMorris does not appear in any mock drafts.

If no Cal player is drafted this weekend it would mark the first time that’s happened since 2019 and just the third time in the past 38 years.

Sirmon, a first-team All-Pac-12 player in 2022, was not invited to the combine, possibly because he missed the final seven games of the season after tearing a biceps muscle in mid-October.

That gave him a lot of time leading to this week.

“With (the draft) kind of being on your mind as the next thing because I got hurt mid-season, it’s felt like forever,” Sirmon admitted.

He believes he used the time well, including the week leading to the Feb. 3 Senior Bowl game at Mobile, Alabama, where top college players practiced in front of scouts. 

“I had gotten cleared like two days before practices started so it was like my first thing back from injury, which was a little scary. But it was fun,” he said. “It was a good week. I’m happy with how it went.”

Sirmon arrived knowing there were primarily two things NFL scouts wanted to know, starting with whether he was healthy. Once they got confirmation on that, the big question was how well he could move, especially in pass coverage.

“If you watch the film, you’re going to get the idea that I can kind of direct traffic and I know my fits and I know where to be and I tackle well,” he said. “But some of the things they wanted to see were how I moved in space, some of my pass coverage stuff. 

"I think that week helped out, being able to put that on display a little bit. I was able to get active in the pass game, whether in team or 7-on-7 or 1-on-1’s.”

After the Senior Bowl, Sirmon did group workouts with the 49ers and Chargers, had phone conversations with NFL personnel people and showed more of what he could do at Cal’s pro day.

He ran 4.26 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, which would have placed him third-best at his position at the combine. He also scored a 34-inch vertical leap and 9-foot-11 broad jump, which would have fallen in the middle among linebackers at the combine.

Sirmon will be home with his family during the draft but hasn’t decided whether to torture himself by watching hours of coverage or find something to keep his mind off things.

His father, Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon, played linebacker in the NFL for a half-dozen years, so he understands some of the uncertainty Jackson will face in the coming days and months.

Dad’s advice to Sirmon was to anticipate the ups and downs and be ready for anything. “All that matters is you get an opportunity and you’re ready and then you make the most of it,” Jackson said.

“I think I’ve put in a lot of good work. I think I’ve prepared well. I’m excited to get my shot and see what I can do.”