Khyree Jackson, CB Alabama: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Jackson was a four-star JUCO transfer from East Mississippi C.C. in Scooba, Miss., in the class of 2021

Khyree Jackson was ESPN’s top JUCO product in 2021. He didn’t see significant playing time until the College Football Playoff, where he performed well against Cincinnati before struggling against Georgia. Jackson is one of several Alabama cornerbacks competing for starting reps this year. His stock in the 2023 NFL Draft remains undetermined.

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Khyree Jackson, CB Alabama: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior cornerback from Upper Marlboro, Md.

Background: Jackson was a four-star JUCO transfer from East Mississippi C.C. in Scooba, Miss., in the class of 2021. He also previously attended Fort Scott C.C. in Kan. and Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George's County, Md. where he failed to receive a star ranking from 247Sports upon graduation with the class of 2017. MaxPreps credits Jackson with 39 receptions for 612 yards and 12 touchdowns and 20 punts for 680 yards, 11 of which ended up inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, as a high school senior. Jackson was the No. 4 JUCO transfer (three-star) according to 247Sports’ JUCO Composite board, an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals, and No. 5 (four-star) for On3.com. He ranked first (four-star) on the ESPN JC50 with an 82 grade out of 100. During the 2019 season at Fort Scott C.C., Jackson recorded 25 tackles and three interceptions.

2021 Production: 12 games, 7 tackles, 2 passes defensed

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed three games in 2021

Awards: N/A

Pros: Quick downhill trigger, ideal height and arm length, special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt coverage, and punt return units, reads the quarterback at a high level, good understanding of how to maintain leverage, uses the sideline as a second defender, forces wide receivers to play into his help coverage, footwork sometimes helps mirror receivers, deployed a one-armed stab in press against Cincinnati (2021), excellent closing speed, slight pause when flipping his hips in transition but that’s understandable for a player his size, patient player who doesn’t force the action, never looked threatened vertically by Cincinnati (2021), long arms help him wrap up offensive players, sniffs out wide receiver screens and blows them up, aggressive at the catch point, good ball skills if he gets his head around

Cons: Age, highly inexperienced at the SEC level, hand placement can be inaccurate in press, plays a little high in his backpedal, might be a little high-hipped, needs to locate the ball sooner, few to no slot snaps at Alabama, sometimes lunges in press coverage which creates an opportunity for the wide receiver to win outside, can’t consistently mirror receivers in man coverage, needs to fill out his frame to help tackle more powerful NFL players, takes a large cushion sometimes that NFL wide receivers will exploit underneath, took him an extra step or two to change directions against Georgia’s (2021) wide receivers, slow backpedal speed, avoids a true backpedal when possible, room to improve his angles to the ball, bites on double moves and pump fakes, largely unproven on routes 30+ yards downfield, needs to stick his nose in against the run more often, struggles shedding blocks when runs come his way

Overview: Jackson is unofficially listed at 6'3", 198 lbs. He played just over 130 defensive snaps in his first season with the Crimson Tide. About 106 of those snaps came during the College Football Playoff as Alabama scrambled to replace injured cornerbacks. Jackson spent most of 2021 playing special teams, where he totaled a little over 120 snaps. The JUCO product only saw action on defense in five games. Jackson spent most of his time in zone with some off-man coverages sprinkled in. His limited press opportunities were a mixed back. On his very limited snaps, he displayed some lunging tendencies when trying to jam receivers and had inconsistent hand placement. The tall, slightly high-hipped corner doesn’t have a low backpedal, and he likes to get out of that stance as quickly as possible. Jackson doesn’t use a true backpedal very often, instead opting to line up in a half-turn. Even when close to the line of scrimmage, he doesn’t stay in his backpedal for long before opening his hips. Jackson was highly effective when he successfully got his hands into the opposing receiver. He had an impressive one-armed stab against Cincinnati (2021) that completely threw off the receiver’s release. Jackson primarily played the field cornerback role in Alabama’s scheme. Alec Pierce didn’t give him much trouble, but Georgia (2021) challenged him in the National Championship Game. After not being threatened much vertically by Cincinnati, Jackson lost twice on downfield routes to Georgia. Jermaine Burton took his lunch money once with a stutter and go route that forced a pass interference call. A few plays later, Adonai Mitchell ran past Jackson for a 40-yard touchdown on a deep throw. The senior defensive back possesses good speed, but his inexperience at the SEC level shows. He bites on play action and double moves, which creates problems on vertical routes. Jackson likely runs in the low 4.4s based on how he ran with James Cook in the National Championship Game. The senior has ideal size and arm length for a corner. He also has impressive closing speed and a quick downhill trigger. Jackson understands leverage well and is well-versed in forcing receivers back into his help and using the sideline as a second defender. He is aggressive at the catch point and displays good ball skills when he gets his head around. However, Jackson doesn’t always locate the football. He would benefit from adding some mass to increase his power as a tackler and make shedding blocks easier. Despite his downhill trigger and tendency to blow up wide receiver screens, Jackson doesn’t always impact the run game. He looked fluid against Cincinnati, but some hip tightness and agility limitations appeared against Georgia.

Overall, Jackson possesses intriguing arm length, closing speed, football IQ, and height, but he’s highly inexperienced and shows some physical limitations. He receives an incomplete grade considering he only saw significant snaps in two games last season.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner to the field side in a zone heavy scheme

Round Projection: Incomplete

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 09-02-22