Jackson was a guy with top level athleticism relative to the top 4 tackles in this draft, but he hadn't taken that step up in production his last season like the others had. I can't say that he definitely would have taken that step if he hadn't had to undergo that procedure, but it is a reasonable consideration. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson end up never being anything special or ending up as the best LT in this draft. The fact that he's so young is a plus. IMO it will probably come down to if he has the right mentality/personality. And there are some indications that he may have that. Fingers crossed.

 

I feel the exact same way- very high character kid that I really want to see succeed. Only time will tell though if he gets there.

 

I love his character, and he is athletic, but he is still raw at this point. I saw him get beat too many times when he faced good competition in college to be very confident about him.

You could chalk some of that up to his bone marrow procedure, but I'm not sure. Guys like Epenesa and Bradley Anae took him to school a bit when they played each other. In general when he faced top competition he got beat quite often.

But he is still young as you said. I hope the team can develop him quickly to improve his technique and play strength.

 

what I bolded you can cut and paste into almost every assessment of every pick we made this draft.

 

When you watch him when he gets beat 9 times out of 10 it is because of poor hand placement or core strength. People get under him or over him and move his hands and arms and his length gets negated....like you say it is a technique fix but he is solid with most of his game technique wise from his chest down and his feet are exceptional......we disagree a lot but IMHO you nailed this one he needs core strength work but his frame can handle it and in my opinion a lot of this has to do with simply not being able to play for the time he was out on the bone marrow transplant. But his AA is very solid and his move skills rival Wirfs.......just the damn core strength and hand placement........so you have some defined target areas to improve on him.

 

How do players build their core strength? He's pretty young, right? Is it a matter of him growing into his frame or is it just getting into the weight room? People may laugh, but yoga seems to build core strength without adding bulk. I have also seen guys flip over tractor tires, or push trucks. It will be interesting to see how quickly he can get his strength up now that football is a full-time job.

 

I'm a firm believer that every lineman, offensive, defensive or even LB should learn a martial art.

It provides balance, quickness, improves your ability to master footwork and handwork, as well as teaches discipline.

 

I agree, wrestling and judo are great for core strength, balance, body control, and understanding leverage at a deep level. The problem is as a professional football player you risk injury training these other high contact sports.

 

I guess if Anae "took Jackson to school" (1 sack against Jackson) then Vernon Gholston took Jake Long to school in college when Jake gave up 1 sack to him? In order to judge a player you need to look at more than 2 or 3 plays.

Now, I think AJ and Anae did "win" the overall game against Jackson, but Jackson "won" the season and he was never really "taken to school" by any player. I'm not sure Anae was anything other than a bad game for Jackson, which every player will have, because I think Jackson is the better player. As for AJ vs Jackson, AJ (if I remember correctly) had 2 sacks that game. However, Jackson threw him around a few times, too. And I'm a huge AJ homer.

Jackson is young and needs more experience and coaching to live up to his pick (a pick that I'm on record in The Club as saying that I didn't like too much). However, claiming that Jackson got beat often when he faced top competition is a reach.

 

There are several instances in both the Anae game and the Epenesa game where Jackson flat out stoned both. He drove Anae into next month on a couple run plays.....he is inconsistent a little but not wildly IMHO. I am not is sure the Anae game was a huge "win" for Anae but when he did win he beat Jackson it was bad and it was the focus matchup the announcers wanted to talk about so it got a lot of attention. The earlier representation that Jackson got manhandled by Epensesa is a stretch IMHO. It should also be noted a lot of Ep;enseas plays people are referencing occurred late when they were down and Slovis was slinging every down and Epenesa was stacking and coming wide, so everyone in four counties knew it was a pass.

 

It reminds me of when people made a huge deal about how Demarcus Ware was manhandling Jake Long during a Dolphins/Cowboys game... when Demarcus Ware literally had one tackle, one pressure, and 0 sacks the whole game.

 

"Austin Jackson was 94th on the PFF Big Board and was taken 18th overall. This was one of the biggest reaches we have seen in the first round of the draft. Jackson is going to be a project for Miami, both technically and physically. His play strength was not that of a first-round pick. He got exposed by NFL-caliber edge rushers in college — when he went up against Julian Okwara, A.J. Epenesa and Bradlee Anae, Jackson gave up a combined eight pressures in those games."
https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2020-nfl-draft-grades-for-all-32-teams

 

Good to know, but, ......So what.

If I posted he was 5th on someones draft board that would matter just as much. Someone had an outlier option...great, makes for good debate but does not change the consensus of the people that matter which is the people making the picks.

It is pretty much broad opinion that he was not likely to be there at 28 so majority of the teams likely had him 20-30.......he was picked at 18, not a huge stretch...especially when there is a big gap between OT5 and OT6, and you desperately need an OT.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...usc-ot-austin-jackson-projections/5104803002/

 

I get your point, but the consensus is that it was a bit of a reach. I don't think it was a massive reach as PFF states however. Their analysis of the pressures he gave up against top competition is irrefutable though. He is a work in progress at this point.

 

For those who think the Dolphins don't know what they are getting in regards to our draft picks...

Here he is talking about Weaver, but we can see he knows they all have a lot of work to do and isn't afraid to let them know it. During the draft after we took Davis, I saw him talking on the phone. I assume, from how serious and passionate Flores looked, that it was Davis he was talking to. If we wasn't, I am pretty sure Davis is now aware of where Flores stands and how high his expectations are. I hope Davis, and our other rookies, are ready to be coached hard. Flores don't play.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article242317621.html

 

No doubt it was a reach. 18 was absolutely his high side. Not near as big of reach as some others I have seen. I personally had him 22-32 but 18 is really not a big deal. You have to look at a lot of stuff and when you do you see a compression at LB and wr that you know is going to have a run, you have some gaps between DL guys and you have a specific need matching a specific gap between player 5 and player 6 at that position. You dont take a RB at 18, you had your QB, there was no interior player worthy of that pick no offense to Ruiz...so it was sorta an obvious decision. So I have zero issues personally and feel my opinion is justified based on circumstance but I get others may feel differently for whatever reason they want.

It is the same as looking at how he performed against top comp and what his situation was the Utah game was a good competitive game through out and Anae had one sack, granted it was ugly but I don't think he had more than 4-5 tackles and the sack. Against Washington he stoned Levi O "we need more vowels", against Notre Dame Kalid Kareem do not do ****, the bowl game against Iowa had them down throwing in predictable spots so his back end was against it and Epenesa had 1 sack early then a couple late when they were were just bringing multiple pressures inducing that late minuet pick 6......and those sacks just looked bad......OK...but overall I understand it from a 20 year old kid and the body of work is not bad. I also don't agree with whomever posted earlier than Anae had a clear win against Jackson. If memory serves I don't remember Anae being dominant and the only couple plays that really stand out are when Jackson showed Anae the bus on a couple running plays.

This guy is just not the reach and bad player that some want him to be for some reason...does he need work...heck yeah especially with his hands and his core strength...but he is feet are as good as it gets and he can anchor and turn so his strength issues are more core and arms. From the hips down he was a top 5 pick.....

 

Here is AJ's game vs Epenesa

 

True, I dont necessarily mean they should do heavy combat or competitions. Obviously that is dangerous.

There is some risk of injury but honestly I see the potential reward as worth it. If you are doing private classes or generally working with a well reputed school the risk of major injury isnt that bad IMO.

 

Great post. I was the one who wrote Anae won. I put it in quotes to emphasize that hitman wrote it, but "win" is not really the case. I would say Anae and Jackson had pretty similar games, but Anae "won" the one play he had a sack...etc. It's not really good to just look at one or two plays to determine how good a player is, and that's what hitman did, so I was trying to be nice to him, but show him that he's wrong.

 

With how important the lower body is for blocking, especially pass blocking. I remember in eight grade when I first had a practice where we practiced pass blocking and I could not believe how sore my legs were the next day. It is amazing to me that he started all 13 games.

 

You were not being "nice", that is not a word I would use to describe you. I watched the whole game, evey snap. Anae won. I saw Jackson give up a sack, at least 3 pressures, and a tackle for loss against Anae. That should be a loss in anyone's book. I wouldn't say Anae completely dominated, but he won. Anae also stacked and shed him to the ground a couple of times with ease. Jackson did good run blocking, and he did show his good feet and athleticism, but Anae has never been a very good run defender anyway. Again the main issues with jackson are technique, hand usage, and play strength.

His feet and athleticism are stellar, but he needs to significantly improve in every other area. I hope the dolphins coach him up well and get him stronger so he can be successful.

 

I watched the Anae game, it wasn't a domination but it was a definite win for Anae. He got a nasty sack, at least three pressures, and a tackle for loss on Jackson. Anae also made him look silly by stacking and shedding him to the ground a couple of times. Jackson did good run blocking, but Anae is not a particularly good run defender overall.

As you said the main problems with jackson are technique, hand usage, and core strength. Those are all areas that can be coached up and improved. His feet and athleticism are stellar, those are things you can't teach.

 

I cant think of a player in this draft that does not need to improve.......on something.

 

True, but there are levels. Some players are just more complete and ready than others.

 

Echoing what many have already said, this kid has great character. He has a GREAT heart! Now for all who are being overly critical of him, I’d like to point out something...

Zach Thomas was a 5th round draft pick and was considered at that time a bottom of the barrel pick. He was too small to play linebacker at the pro level. Jimmy Johnson saw something in him that no one else saw and gave him his shot.

Now Jackson in the first round, Thomas in the 5th May be comparing apples to oranges but what message does Flores pick of Jackson in the first round send? I see something in you that no one else sees.

The rest is history concerning Thomas. Time will tell concerning Jackson

 

In high school, our right tackle was a state judo champion. Big fat kid, not that tall, but had unbelievable balance (for his size/shape) and did well against faster, superior athletes. Not sure if he ever played college ball after that, but there was definitely something there in training martial arts for balance/attack angles/etc.

At the time I thought it was kinda a joke- big fat guy a state judo champ. But looking back, he didn't have an athletes frame, wasn't really an athlete at all, yet held his own against real athletes. I should have trained with him for a few years and switched to fullback...might have gotten me a D1 ride.

 

I've always wondered why we don't see any Sumo players in the NFL. I guess they just don't have the stamina to make it a full game but they would kick *** at the Goal line bring in the Sumos!

 

Isn't Solomon Kindley our version of a Sumo? :tongue:

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I am excited that we drafted him.

 

I could see a Sumo playing NT. I'm not sure he'd have much of a pass rush, but I think he could definitely play a 2-gap NT and tie up 2 OL and he'd clog the hole so no RB could get through. He'd probably need to come out on passing downs. I too think stamina would come into play.

 

They don't have the feet.

 

The way I see it is he has all the athleticism you want in the position, at least as good as the guys taken before him but he is young. The things that he needs core strength and work on his technique are things that coaches can correct and improve. He seems to have a very high ceiling. Lets keep in mind this kid is just past being a teenager and the first half of last season he was recovering from being a bone marrow donor.

I think he is going to be just fine and will be more than serviceable. He could end up the best in the draft after our coaches get hold of him. You never know. This guy is still a kid.

 

Dude you need to watch sumo properly. It’s all about the feet and the balance.

 

Though I can see the premise of a sumo wrestler being a great offensive lineman, the down side of trying such a thing is that sumo wrestlers hold all of the time. Would hate to get a 10 yard holding penalty play after play after play.

 

Not to mention the numerous illegal weggie penalties......

 

It’s the bigger guys who hold a lot, using the leverage of their bodies. The smaller guys are much more about agility and slaps to keep the bigger guys offbalance.

I was on the street in Osaka last year and ended up standing next to a sumo in his day off/training gear. I”m 6 foot even and played rugby when I was young, but this sumo’s legs made my legs look like chicken legs, I swear he had grafted two oak trunks onto his hips. Seeing them on screen doesn’t give you a true indication of just how big and powerful their legs are.

 

I pledge to continue to post replies in random threads, with no intention of contributing to the thread