Film Session: Landon Jackson NFL draft prospect profile

Pro scouting report of Arkansas Razorbacks defensive end Landon Jackson

Landon Jackson is a senior defensive end from the University of Arkansas. According to the Arkansas Razorbacks, Jackson started 21 throughout his collegiate career.

Based on his baseline measurables, Jackson has elite height and average weight for his position. Jackson also has average hand size and below-average arm length for the defensive end position.

Jackson finished the 2024 season with 6.5 sacks and 49 total tackles. He finished his career with 16 sacks over three years with the Razorbacks as several pre-season and regular season honors, including 2024 second-team ALL-SEC and 2024 watch lists for the Bronko Nagursky, Chuck Bednarik, and Lombardi awards.

What to make of Jackson as a defensive end? Here are my takeaways from his college film.

As a pass rusher, Jackson’s high-level motor skills and competitiveness initially make him a threat, but he also shows good upfield bursts and brings some power with his punches. He has solid strike placement at the point of attack, and when engaged, he shows good overall functional strength and leg drive to stress linemen and drive them back. Jackson has good chop-rip rush moves and lateral quickness on jab steps to take advantage of oversetting linemen. Overall, his hand usage is impressive, and he displays an excellent ability to time his hand usage with his lower body.

While his initial rush plan is sound, Jackson’s secondary and tertiary moves are poor, and on the next level, he can find himself struggling against a well-developed offensive lineman. Additionally, Jackson’s ankle flexion is below average, as displayed by his ability to corner effectively after winning an engagement. His ability to convert speed-to-power is below average, and he shows an inconsistent ability to survive and balance through contact.

As a run defender, Jackson shows good processing, recognizing his role as a force defender, and is also a playmaker in the gap with his tackling/effort ability. He plays with good vision overall due to hat placement against various block schemes. Against down blocks, he shows good overall functional strength to stalemate blocks; against base blocks, Jackson can stack and shed well to get off blocks. Jackson also has good overall football instincts against the read options as the read defender.

Jackson struggles to anchor due to a naturally high pad level, which is more of an issue in the run game. He struggled to process/identify trap scheme blocks as the playside defender and stalemating kick-out blocks as the force defender, showing strength concerns and getting moved off the ball.

Conclusion:

Jackson’s versatility extends to his ability to align (1t, 3t, 5t, and 6t) at multiple spots along the defensive line. Jackson wins as a pass rusher with his initial burst and rush plan, but his edge in this area is his competitiveness/motor, making him a nuisance for quarterbacks. Jackson has violent hand usage overall and brings a punch, whether in the pass or run game. I trust his hand usage and think he can, with time, develop counter moves to make him even more of a threat throughout a given pass rush rep. He can be counted on to generate pressure often. As a run defender, I trust his ability to set a good edge as the force defender, and he also shows a good ability to defend the run aligned inside the tackles. Jackson can become an impactful, dangerous defensive lineman in the NFL if he can eliminate the inconsistencies in his rush plan and strengthen his processing ability against the run.