2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: LB D'Marco Jackson, Appalachian State

Appalachian State LB D'Marco Jackson's production would certainly qualify him as a hidden diamond in the rough. What does he have to offer a team?

D’Marco Jackson, LB

Height: 6’1
Weight: 233 lbs.
Class: RS-Senior
School: Appalachian State
Arm length: 32 ½”
Wingspan: 77 ⅞”
Hand size: 9 ¼”

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A former two-star recruit out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he attended Broome High School, Jackson was a running back coming out of high school, and he was the 249th ranked RB in the 2017 cycle. 

He was the 61st-ranked prospect out of South Carolina. Jackson was the Herald Journal Defensive Player of the Year in high school at LB while rushing for over 3,000-yards as a running back. Jackson is the cousin of Maurice Morris, a former player with the Seahawks and Lions.

Notables

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A true leader on the defensive side of the football for a smaller school, Jackson was very productive. In his senior season, he recorded 119 tackles, 20 for a loss, six sacks, an interception, five passes defended a forced fumble, 27 pressures, and 51 STOPS. He ended his career with 291 tackles, 35 for a loss, 11.5 sacks, three interceptions, 14 passes defended, 55 pressures, and 127 STOPs.

Jackson received All-American nominations from PFN (second team), Phil Steele (fourth team), and PFF (honorable mention). He was the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and was first-team All-Sun Belt in 2020 & 2021. Jackson attended the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he was solid all week, and the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine:

• 40-yard-dash: 4.55s
• 10-yard-split: 1.56
• Vertical jump: 33”
• Broad jump: 125”

Strengths

HELEN COMER/DNJ

• Thick build in a more compact frame
• Very good athlete with excellent short-area quickness and burst
• Good overall change of direction and excellent lateral agility
• Read his run keys well on counter and gap runs
• Lousiana: Q4, 14:50
• Miami: Q2, 4:22
• A quick penetrator who flies downhill with a good physical nature
• Good overall run defender who needs to clean up some tackling issues
• Carries good pop on contact when tackling
• Great bend in his lower half to evade contact when coming forward, and dip/turn in tight quarters
• Miami: Q1, 00:32; Q1, 00:01
• Marshall: Q1, 14:04 (on blitz); Q1, 3:37
• Gets low and minimizes his surface area to get skinny when blitzing or penetrating
• Has upside to be used as a pass-rusher in passing situations (needs to develop better hands)
• Impressive defender in pursuit who does well to work around trash
• Good overall range and speed
• Effective blitzer who is excellent in green dog situations
• Frequently flushed the scrambling quarterback to the sideline to force a throw-away
• Has the capability to be a good man coverage cornerback
• Was late to carry a RB wheel; he flipped his hips, located, and got his hand into the catch point in the end zone (Arkansas State: Q1, 00:17)
• Fluid athlete in space
• Solid zone awareness to pick up crossers
• Team captain and will thrive on special teams in the NFL

Weaknesses/Can Improve

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

• Short for a linebacker (15th% percentile)
• Adquate overall play strength when he doesn’t explode into targets (gets washed out of plays, anchor issues)
• Misses too many tackles (21% missed tackle rate in 2020 and 15.3% in 2021)
• Can be a more disciplined tackler; he’s not consistently bad at this, but it’s a factor to the missed tackles
• Over aggressive, will overplay or commit leaving his responsibility vulnerable
• Pressed the LOS and false stepped at times, leaving him chasing instead of attacking
• Engulfed at the second level when OL have clean release to climb
• Relies on his bend and evasiveness to avoid OL contact; needs work with shedding when OL land hands
• Solid overall coverage capable, but failed to cover #3 up the seam in 3x1 set vs Marshall (Q2, 12:46)
• Played at a smaller level of competition

Summary

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, D’marco Jackson is an explosive undersized linebacker who does a solid job processing the game in the box with great penetration skills and pop-on contact. He struggled to keep himself clean and was often washed away from his run fit by climbing OL. 

I appreciate his quick trigger coming downhill, his impressive range to cover space, and his pursuit/hustle. I am not one for comparisons because they typically do both players a disservice, but Jackson is a slightly less effective version of Nakobe Dean if I were to use a comparison. 

If a team loves Dean and misses him on day one or early day two, then Jackson could be a target for them on day three. I think he’d fit well into Martindale’s scheme because of his ability to drop in coverage and the traits he shows when pressuring the quarterback. He will likely be a situational sub-package linebacker to start his career with the upside of becoming a solid WILL.

GRADE: 6.16 

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