How Quickly Can Jackson Contribute?

Dolphins first-round pick Austin Jackson is a gifted tackle with a lot of potential, but how quickly he's ready to contribute remains to be seen

Raw but gifted.

That was the NFL.com analysis of tackle Austin Jackson before the Dolphins selected him with the 18th overall selection in the 2020 draft.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. took it a step further in his analyst of the former USC standout: “Jackson is a developmental tackle with a high ceiling. If he lands in the right situation, he could be an All-Pro.”

That’s clearly what the Dolphins envisioned when they selected Jackson with the pick obtained from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 trade involving safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Jackson was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection last year despite his well-documented summer sacrifice of helping his sister (more on that later), but he’ll be the first to admit there’s a lot more to his game.

“Definitely, I think there’s a lot more room to grow,” Jackson said. “I feel like since I’ve made the decision to leave and train for the NFL, my strength and athleticism has just gone up 10 times what it was, and I feel like getting around an NFL locker room with NFL guys, I feel like there’s just more knowledge to learn the game. I think the ceiling is incredibly high, and I think I can get as much as I put into it, which will be a lot.”

Jackson played every snap at left tackle for USC the past two seasons, but there may come a time when he’s asked to move to the right side if he develops as hoped because that position ultimately will be responsible for protecting Tua Tagovailo’s blind side.

While that’s in the future, Jackson says he’s ready for that challenge.

“I’ve played both tackle positions my whole life,” Jackson said. “I’ve played guard. I’ve played everywhere on the line. I don’t have an ego that tells me I’m only a left tackle. I’m a football player at the end of the day. I just play football and help out the team in any way I can.”

1. Draft a franchise QB in Tua. 2. Make sure he doesn’t get touched

The Dolphins select USC OT Austin Jackson with the No. 18 pick in the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/6g76IcaX7c

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 24, 2020

With the Dolphins embarking on a complete overhaul of the offensive line, there will be opportunities for newcomers to win starting jobs at different spots. Jackson figures to be in the mix to start at left tackle, where Julién Davenport ended last season as the starter.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores, though, cautioned against expecting too much too soon — from any of the rookie offensive linemen.

“I think really what we are trying to do is get good players,” Flores said. “Left tackle, right tackle … I think at the end of the day, we want to bring good players onto this team who will work and compete. To talk about starting positions, I mean, these guys have never been in an NFL locker room. I think that’s asking them a lot. I think we just take it day-to-day, and that’s the message I’m always going to send to all of our players, especially young players.

“There is a lot to learn as far as getting to know your teammates, getting to know our coaches, getting to know our terminology and how we do things. There is a lot to learn. So before we start talking about who is starting, who is playing left or right, I think for each rookie and really for every player, let’s just take this one day at a time and hopefully if we can string good days together, we’ll see some of the fruits of that labor.”

Jackson has NFL genes, as his grandfather Melvin Jackson started at guard for the Green Bay Packers in 1977 and 1978 during a five-year NFL career.

When asked what lessons he learned from his grandfather, Jackson said: “It's a business. You have to show up every day, work to get better. There's some technique stuff he's showed me, but football in the '70s is a lot different than football now. But the biggest thing he's taught me is show up every day, work hard, and make the most for yourself.”

When we talk about Jackson and his family, though, the big story is about his sister Autumn and what he did for her.

A bond like no other between Austin Jackson and Autumn Jackson. #NFLDraft2020 pic.twitter.com/t9w55fW1M9

— ABC (@ABCNetwork) April 24, 2020

As we mentioned earlier, Jackson took time in the summer to become a bone marrow done for his sister, and he explained in detail the circumstances at the combine in Indianapolis.

“My sister has a rare blood disorder which causes your body not to produce red blood cells,” Jackson said. “She's had it since she was born. The procedure I did, the bone marrow transplant, allows her body to accept my blood cells. Thank god we were a perfect match through blood testing. That allowed her to fully restart her system and her body is now producing red blood cells.

“It was a long process. I had to take the whole offseason to go home and be with her and train on my own. I couldn't afford to get sick. Otherwise the procedure would have been prolonged. I battled back through fall camp and through the season to gain my strength back.”

Jackson indicated at the combine and repeated after the draft that his sister is doing much better physically.

As the story goes, there was a 25 percent chance that Jackson would be a match for his donor, and he described his emotions when he found that he indeed was.

“There were a lot of emotions,” he said. “I was happy. I was excited. But most importantly I just thanked God. It was a miracle and I was glad I could do that for my family.

“I didn't train for about three weeks after the surgery, then starting slowly working my way back to being on my feet. The procedure takes place in my lower back. As an offensive lineman that's pretty crucial.

“I'm glad I could do it. I feel like everybody would have done it for their little sister or sibling. Really glad I could do that.”

Jackson is back to normal physically now, and the focus is on his NFL career and he intends to make a quick impact for the Dolphins.

“I'm confident,” Jackson said. “I come from a family of football players. My grandfather played in the NFL. This is what I've been working for. This was my dream since I was a kid, since I started playing football. And I'm ready.”

Austin Jackson is the highest drafted Trojan offensive lineman since 2012!

📺: NFLN/ESPN/ABC@ChocoDro | #USCtotheNFL pic.twitter.com/4HEhjw9O16

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) April 24, 2020