Brennan Jackson, Edge Washington State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Jackson was a three-star recruit from Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif. in the class of 2018

Washington State defensive end Brennan Jackson had an outstanding final season with the Cougars. The veteran team captain projects as a Day Three selection in the 2024 NFL Draft and will play a rotational role as a rookie.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Brennan Jackson, Edge Washington State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Sixth-year redshirt senior defensive end from Temecula, Calif.

Background: Jackson was a three-star recruit from Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif. in the class of 2018. He was the No. 1,022 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,064 for On3.com. Jackson was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and didn’t receive a star rating or grade out of 100 from ESPN. He played high school varsity football for three seasons, spending time along the defensive line and at tight end. Jackson produced 102 tackles, including 13 for loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles as a senior, earning First Team All-Southwestern League honors. He also earned Second Team All-Southwestern League honors as a tight end for catching 18 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown. Jackson totaled 88 tackles and ten sacks as a junior on his way to earning Second Team All-Southwestern League honors.

Injuries & Off-Field: Tore his ACL in 2018 and didn’t play, missed 11 games with a broken foot in 2019

Awards: 2020 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2021 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2021 First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District 8, 2022 Second Team All-Pac-12, 2023 Second Team All-Pac-12, 2023 Team Captain

Pros: Special teams experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, engaging personality and leadership skills, football IQ, nice juice off the line, fires hands into lineman’s chest, surprising pop in hands, nice power in hands to pry open gaps or knock linemen back, punishes tackles who overset by threatening inside rush lanes, works linemen up the arc before redirecting inside, works to soften rush angles throughout plays, athletic mismatch for guards who wins their shoulders, push-pull move, spin move, two-armed bull rush into a swim move, long-arm-swim move, rip move, converts speed to power, spins back into the action, gets skinny to shoot the B-gap, beat Jordan Morgan for a sack on an inside swim (2023), gets hands in passing lanes, impressive open field speed, high effort pursuit player, motor runs hot, never question his effort, stacks blocks and peaks into the backfield, active hands to deconstruct blocks, held his own in run defense vs. Wisconsin (2023), works off blocks and down the line to the football, speed to make plays as a backside run defender, probably random but nice nose for the end zone in 2023

Cons: A little high-hipped, arm length is good but not great, frame carries physical limitations, unknown how much positive weight he can add at this point, pad level rises over the course of the play, rush stunted when the lineman makes first contact, power rush stalls against stout linemen, bull rush dies out, doesn’t consistently dominate tight ends as a pass rusher, some hip tightness, lacks bend to flatten angles to the quarterback, pushed up and around the pocket, limited pass rush arsenal, lacks “instant win” moves, pass rush plan and arsenal are underdeveloped for a sixth-year player, counters don’t revive rush consistently, too many non-impact rushes, sealed to open running lanes, play strength and anchor at the point of attack are questionable, must finish more tackle opportunities in the backfield

Overview: Jackson primarily lines up as a 5-tech for Washington State in two- and three-point stances, but he also takes snaps as a down 4i or an upright wide 9. He has special teams experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. Jackson is a high IQ player with an engaging personality and respectable leadership qualities. He fires off the line with good speed and fits his hands into the lineman’s chest with ideal timing. There’s some surprising pop in hands and good power to pry open gaps after knocking linemen back. Jackson punishes tackles who overset by taking inside rush lanes. He excels at working linemen up the arc before redirecting into the B-gap. The sixth-year defender is constantly fighting to soften the tackle’s shoulders throughout the play to create better rush angles. The Cougars occasionally use him as a 4i and have him rush against the guard because he creates an athletic mismatch. Jackson’s pass rush arsenal includes push-pull, spin, swim, and rip moves. He combines some moves to get a long-arm-swim. Jackson converts speed to power to play through linemen but is also capable of getting skinny to slip through the B-gap. One of his best reps in 2023 was a sack that came on an inside swim against Arizona left tackle Jordan Morgan. Jackson gets his hands in passing lanes when he doesn’t reach the quarterback. He is a high-effort player in pursuit with impressive speed. Coaches never question his effort or motor. The All-Pac-12 selection uses his active hands to stack and deconstruct blocks. He works off blocks and down the line to the football and has the speed to make plays as a backside run defender. Jackson’s frame carries some physical limitations. He is a little high-hipped and lacks high-end arm length. It’s unlikely that he can add more mass to his frame at this point. Jackson’s pad level gets too high over the course of the play. His rushes are stunted when linemen make first contact. The California native’s power rushes stall against stout linemen, and he doesn’t consistently dominate tight ends as a pass rusher. Jackson deals with some hip tightness that limits his bend and ability to flatten angles. While he has a variety of pass rush moves, Jackson lacks “instant win” options. His counters don’t revive his rush consistently, and he deals with too many non-impact pass rush reps. Jackson’s pass rush plan and arsenal are underdeveloped for a sixth-year college veteran. Linemen seal him to open running lanes, and his play strength to anchor at the point of attack is questionable.

Overall, Jackson is a fast, high-effort, and high-character pass rusher with the basic move set and physical traits to be a rotational player early in his career. However, physical limitations and inconsistent results down-to-down suggest he might lack starter-level upside. At worst, Jackson will be a valuable locker room presence as a back end of the roster player, but he could be as good as a team’s third option in a pass rush rotation.

Role & Scheme Fit: 3-4 outside linebacker, possible undersized 4-3 defensive end

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Early Fifth

Size: 6'4", 264 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 11-22-23