Seahawks 2021 Draft Profile: Tarron Jackson

Though Darrell Taylor, Alton Robinson, and L.J. Collier are set to return for Seattle in 2021, there's no such thing as having too many capable edge rushers. With limited draft capital to work with and Carlos Dunlap potentially on his way out, could the Seahawks take a shot on Jackson?

Over the past two years, the Seahawks have endured tremendous turnover at defensive end. From dealing Frank Clark to acquiring Jadeveon Clowney to trading up to draft Darrell Taylor to landing Carlos Dunlap in a midseason trade, Pete Carroll's defense has played musical chairs at both positions.

After a strong finish from the group in 2020, Seattle may face yet another significant change with Dunlap's future up in the air. Rasheem Green will also enter the final year of his rookie contract with much to prove, leaving the door open for the team to add another edge defender in April's draft.

With versatility always prioritized by the Seahawks along the defensive line, particularly at the base defensive end spot, Coastal Carolina standout Tarron Jackson could be a player on the organization's radar on day three.

Strengths

Built like a brick wall, Jackson possesses a powerful 6-foot-2, 260-pound frame and he looked like a man amongst boys playing in the Sun Belt conference. He uses his strength to his advantage at the point of attack, playing with heavy, violent hands and firing them into the chest of opposing blockers while using his thick lower body to drive them back into the pocket. He'll occasionally sprinkle in a quality arm over move or a swipe and rip combo off his vicious bull rush.

BYU QB Zach Wilson is the main attraction, but #CoastalCarolina DL Tarron Jackson (8.5 sacks, 38 pressures) is also a legit NFL prospect in tomorrow’s match-up

Jackson (LDE, #9) shows a knack for knifing through gaps with his quickness and physical hands. pic.twitter.com/3ugz7VgDNw

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 4, 2020

Despite his stocky build, Jackson exhibits surprising explosiveness off the snap and he consistently takes advantage of his low center of gravity to win the leverage battle, particularly in the pass rushing department. Coupled with a relentless motor, he excels at shedding blocks with sound hand technique, allowing him to rack up sacks and tackles for loss in bunches. Living in the backfield, he had 18.0 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss in his final two collegiate seasons.

Coastal Car EDGE Tarron Jackson holds his own vs. larger OT, often using his hands to disengage to make stops in the run game. Here he earns a sack hustling to prevent the QB from escaping the pocket. #SnapScout21 pic.twitter.com/evQcvWnPp3

— Chad Reuter (@chad_reuter) November 20, 2020

Constantly in pursuit of the football, Jackson never finds himself out of a play. He will run down running backs as a backside defender, he will swing his hips open and chase receivers on screens to the outside, and he's always got his head on a swivel looking for the football, displaying maximum effort every single snap. He also knows how to finish plays with turnovers, forcing four fumbles as a senior.

Having played defensive tackle in his first two seasons at Coastal Carolina, Jackson may offer the versatility to line up at multiple positions along the defensive line at the next level. While likely to spend the majority of his time off the edge in the NFL, he offers enough strength to reduce inside on pass rushing downs and rush from 3-tech and 2i alignments.

Weaknesses

Though Jackson boasts better quickness and agility than expected given his body type, he rarely wins as a speed rusher and lacks preferred flexibility. Playing against inferior competition, he rarely exhibited the bend pro scouts look for at the top of his rush, struggling to turn the corner on blockers to zero in on quarterbacks in the pocket.

Surprisingly, given Jackson's proficiency for disengaging from blocks, he has plenty of room for growth developing counter moves to be a successful rusher at the next level. He becomes reliant at times on his arm over and swipe/rip moves, leading to his rush stalling out at times without another go-to counter at his disposal.

As a run defender, Jackson's college tape has been hit-and-miss. While he displayed the maximum effort teams covet and dominated much of the time, he also struggled at times with setting anchor off the edge, allowing runs to break contain. He also has a tendency to "guess" on run fits, which was exposed in a loss to Georgia Southern during the 2019 season.

Durability remains a lingering concern for Jackson, as he missed all but four games in his freshman season and received a medical redshirt. He dealt with injuries each of the next two seasons as well, missing four more games and playing at well below 100 percent in several others.

Fit in Seattle

When it comes to the base defensive end position, the Seahawks have always preferred bigger bodies who can line up off the edge and also slide inside. While Jackson isn't quite as big as L.J. Collier or Quinton Jefferson, he's a powerful defender who held up well at multiple positions during the Senior Bowl, suggesting he would be a quality fit in Seattle's scheme. He also brings a pass rushing element that the team has lacked at that position since Michael Bennett departed after the 2017 season.

Given the draft capital Seattle has invested at defensive end the past two years, general manager John Schneider is unlikely to use an early pick at the position again. But with Green entering the final year of his contract and with the jury still out on Collier as a long-term starter, bolstering depth with a late-round pick would make sense. Jackson could step in as a rotational reserve right away and offers a high enough ceiling to be a potential starter down the road.