2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: OT Alaric Jackson, Iowa
OT ALARIC JACKSON
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 315 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Iowa
He is a three-star recruit out of Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan. Alaric Jackson was on the Outland Trophy watchlist, was second-team All-American by Athlon Sports, and was third-team All-Preseason by Phil Steele.
A lot of big publications had him as a first-team All-Big 10 in the preseason. He missed three games due to injury in 2019 but started the other ten opposite of Tristin Wirfs.
He was a second-team All-Big 10 in 2018 by leagues and coaches and by the Associated Press and Phil Steele. He was also second-team All-Big 10 by Phil Steele and the leagues and coaches.
Jackson played good football for Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes and will attempt to maintain the trend of solid lineman from the program. He attended the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl and had a modest week that got better as the event progressed.
Injuries
He missed the first month of the 2019 seasons due to a knee injury. Upon returning, he was only about 70% for the entire season due to the injury.
Traits
The Hawkeyes started left tackle, who played opposite Tristin Wirfs for the majority of his career. Jackson is a wide-bodied, long-armed tackle who has an NFL frame.
He’s a solid athlete who operates well in confined spaces; possesses good quickness for a man of his size. However, foot quickness up the arc isn’t great, and his base can be a bit narrow when moving laterally up the arc.
He does a good job positioning himself as a run blocker and uses a strong punch to get inside and control the point of attack. Good lower leg drive to move defenders and generate push at the point of attack--he has very good play strength in this area.
Grip strength is exceptional. He can lunge a bit when blocking down the line of scrimmage if he doesn’t initially gain access to 4i-Techniques. Quick when he pulls on pin-pull concepts and does a good job keeping his path tight to the line of scrimmage while locating 2nd level defenders well.
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He plays with very good competitive toughness. He is a solid pass protector who has very good length and does a solid job framing his blocks. When he gets a clean grasp on pass rushers, he does a very good job controlling them with his hands--he also readjusts well to pass-rushers' moves. Hands can get a bit wide right off the snap.
His feet aren’t overly fast - speed and dip can give him an issue if he plays high, which he tends to do occasionally. He handles power moves a bit better than finesse moves. He has stiffness in his hips that affects his ability to bend and mirror around the edge versus speed.
He has a very good anchor ability and does a good job resetting the line of scrimmage. Handles counters well by readjusting his body at the line of scrimmage against power, and he has active hands not to allow himself to lose often with hand fighting. Balance through contact isn’t an issue (when engaged straight up), despite the higher center of gravity.
Overall, Alaric Jackson could be a Day 2 talent in the upcoming draft. He’s long, has enough athletic ability, and is a sound run blocker who can anchor well against power in pass protection.
His speed could be an issue because of tightness, which will affect his stock and possibly lead to him moving inside to guard. Jackson was injured for some of 2019, but he showed enough progression and competency in 2020 to warrant a late Day 2 draft selection in the upcoming draft.
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