Drake Jackson has a Skill That Nick Bosa didn’t as a Rookie

Nick Bosa is generally a man of few words at the podium.

But when it came to his thoughts on Drake Jackson, he had one of his more interesting quotes in long time.

“Really nice kid, super talented,” said Bosa. “He does things out there I definitely couldn’t do as a rookie. Just the way he moves. He’s definitely got some impressive stuff about him, but it’s only been two days that I’ve seen him. Just a great dude though. Just wants to learn and really appreciative to be here. I’m glad we got him.”

Bosa, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, is one of the most polished players taken top-five in the last decade. For him to say that Jackson, a late second-round pick, has a skill that he didn’t have a rookie is astonishing and quite insightful. So what is that specific skill that Bosa sees in Jackson?

“Just his bend and his mobility, that young, I think his gymnastics background or whatever — he just can bend really well. And that’s something I had to improve on as my career has gone on as I’ve trained with my brother and our trainer. But he’s just got it naturally. So if he can keep building and keep getting better, that’d be pretty scary.”

This is why Jackson is the “Dee Ford replacement” for me. Ford excelled as a speed rusher and could bend well. That is exactly what Jackson is going to do. Bend a lot of times for edge rushers can’t be taught. Some players are just too stiff and don’t have that fluidity in them.

For Jackson to have that and have it already at an extraordinary level that has Bosa noticing — it is phenomenal for him. The next step for Jackson is to build and maintain strength to get a power base in his arsenal, which is maybe what Bosa meant by “keep building and keep getting better." And the fact that Bosa is seeing that already in Jackson after just a couple of days is nothing short of amazing. Jackson is already impressing Bosa and even his defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

“Getting Drake was an awesome pick for us there," said Ryans. "He has really great ability and he just has to keep working. He has the ability to get to the quarterback. And if he keeps working, keeps getting in there with [defensive line coach Kris] Kocurek, and learning from Bosa, learning from [DL] Arik [Armstead], learning from Samson, just diving in and really detailing out his job, Drake has a chance to be a really good player for us.”

2022 is laid out perfectly for Jackson to dominate. He is poised to be one of the better draft selections the 49ers have made in recent years.