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21. MCKINNLEY JACKSON | Texas A&M 6014 | 326 lbs. | 4SR Lucedale, Miss. (George County) 12/26/2001 (age 22.33) #3 BACKGROUND: McKinnley Jackson was born and raised in Lucedale and often lived with his grandmother as both of his parents spent time in and out of prison. Jackson started to blossom with sports, especially football, because of his size. He was so dominant in middle school that he was moved up to the varsity team at George County High School in eighth grade. Jackson was a four-year starter on varsity and posted remarkable production for a defensive tackle. He tallied 60 tackles, 30.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and five forced fumbles as a freshman. As a sophomore, Jackson finished with 81 tackles, 36.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks and seven forced fumbles as a sophomore. As a junior, he finished with a career high in tackles (91) and sacks (11.5). Jackson was named the 6A Mississippi Mr. Football as a senior with 76 tackles, 37.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks and one forced fumble. After subpar finishes in 2017 and 2018, Jackson led George County back to the playoffs in 2019 and was named a U.S. Army All-American. He finished his prep career with 308 tackles, 135 tackles for loss, 48 sacks and 16 forced fumbles. A four-star recruit, Jackson was the No. 9 defensive tackle in the 2020 recruiting class and the No. 1 recruit in Mississippi (one spot ahead of CB Emmanuel Forbes). He was the No. 62 recruit nationally. Jackson received his first scholarship offer at age 12, when Louisiana offered in eighth grade. It didn’t take long for SEC programs to take notice, and Ole Miss and Auburn offered him toward the end of his freshman year. Jackson originally committed to LSU midway through his sophomore season, but he decommitted a few months later and reopened his recruitment. He attended multiple camps throughout SEC country and ultimately committed to Texas A&M over Alabama, Auburn and LSU. Jackson was the No. 6 recruit in head coach Jimbo Fisher’s 2020 recruiting class (one spot behind RB De’Von Achane). Jackson opted out of the 2023 bowl game and accepted his invitation to the 2024 Senior Bowl. YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES 2020: (10/1) 13 2.0 1.5 0 2 0 SEC All-Freshman; Enrolled in May 2020; Pandemic-shortened season 2021: (10/4) 14 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 Suspended first two games (offseason arrest) 2022: (8/7) 37 7.0 2.0 0 0 0 Blocked PAT; Team captain; Missed five games (elbow) 2023: (12/12) 27 5.5 3.0 1 0 0 Team captain; Missed bowl game (opt out) Total: (40/24) 91 15.5 7.5 1 2 0 HT WT HAND ARM WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP COMBINE 6014 326 10 33 7/8 80 1/4 5.26 3.01 1.78 23 8’10” - - - (no shuttle, 3-cone, bench press — choice) PRO DAY 6014 336 10 33 7/8 80 1/4 - - - - - 4.90 7.89 24 (stood on combine run and jumps) STRENGTHS: Broad-chested with burly thighs and natural girth in his upper body … uses low center of gravity and knee bend to his advantage, establishing early leverage … able to reestablish the line of scrimmage when he times up the snap and generates power through his hips … exceptional length with heaviness in his massive hands to create thump at contact … uses a fairly fluid arm-over move to clear the blocker … flashes bull-rush potential when he continues to drive his lower body … plays with the balance to keep his feet through traffic … moves well laterally to attack the edges of blocks … stays active to clean up on coverage sacks … twoyear team captain and was respected in the Aggies’ locker room. WEAKNESSES: His second and third steps don’t match his first step … feet stall out too quickly once blockers lock on … snap anticipation runs hot and cold (jumped offside on the 2023 Miami tape) … doesn’t look natural when attempting to patch together rush moves … inconsistent backfield vision and often late to diagnose the play design … can be moved by double teams and when caught out of position … missed almost half of his junior season because of an elbow injury (September 2022) … arrested on drug charges (August 2021), including possession of a controlled substance, and suspended for the first two games of the 2021 season … averaged just 35.8 defensive snaps per game in 2023, as the coaches tried to keep him fresh. SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Texas A&M, Jackson was the nose tackle in former defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin four-man front, playing primarily over the Agap. He was drawing early-round draft grades from NFL scouts the summer before the 2023 season, but his final season in College Station was uneven in b oth production and performance. Jackson has the long arms and initial burst to rudely slam his hands into blocks, displaying contact balance and natural strength to hold the point. Though he flashes explosion out of his stance, his momentum quickly stalls out once he meets any resistance, lacking the pass rush moves/counters to easily shed and disrupt the backfield. Overall, Jackson has a desirable nose tackle body type with his arm length, low center and raw power, but his disjointed hand usage and positional instincts are concerns for his next-level transition. He is a candidate to provide depth as a shade in a 4-3 front. GRADE: 6th-7th Round

Bit of a disappointment this year, but probably the number 2 "true" NT in the draft. If they can motivate and develop him, Jackson could eventually be a decent 2-down nose with Jenkins sliding over on passing downs

Housh played mad but usually kept it in check so that's encouraging.

Yes, we did.

We don't have enough Nose Tackles. That's him.

McKinnley Jackson MCKINNLEY JACKSON TEXAS A&M DT Prospect Info COLLEGE Texas A&M HOMETOWN CLASS Lucedale, MS Senior HEIGHT 6’ 1 1/2’’ WEIGHT 326 lbs ARM 33 7/8’’ HAND 10’’ Overview Squatty interior defender who felt somewhat miscast as a 0-technique nose over the center. Jackson is explosive off the snap with the ability to get into blockers quickly or to attack their edges as a penetrator. He tends to ride on blocks once they land squarely and needs to develop his hands for better counters as both a run defender and a rusher. Jackson plays with good strength, but he's more gradual than twitchy in his battles. He might be more consistently effective at a lighter weight and as a rotational nose in a one-gapping even front. Strengths Two-time captain who was highly decorated by the team. Flashes out of his stance and explodes into center with explosive pop. Strong hips and good balance prevent him from spending time on the ground. Low center of gravity helps him slip off or around the edge as a one-gapper. Patient before unleashing his slide-and-slap move to beat guards in his rush.

There's still good players available when we pick in the 4th Rd.

I hate Payton Wilson.

All 4 picks so far were brought in on Top 30 visits. Definitely not a coincidence.

Can this guy play LB or TE? Got enough DTs

Doubling up on DT. I'm OK with that. By the time the playoff push begins, someone's going to be injured.

Dane Brugler in The Beast had him as a 6/7 round prospect. Pretty big reach.

Absolute disaster from gridiron grading. Don’t know much.

Great pick

That's a pretty big reach on Brugler's board. He had him a 6/7 rounder.

I liked Boyd more but Jackson is solid. Our war room seems to make way more sense. Some of these other teams have rows and rows of computers....makes no sense.

I mentioned him earlier great pick!

We got stout the past 2 days.

We got our Nose Tackle. He was the guy not named Sweat that I thought could go to us

There's the big boy Who is next on my hate list?