Taking a look at a Jets offensive line prospect
The New York Jets recently signed former Jaguars offensive lineman Samuel Jackson. Today we break Jackson down in detail.
The 26-year old Jackson is listed at 6’5” and 325 pounds and started 46 games in six seasons at UCF before going undrafted in 2023. He was released in final cuts by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 and the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks in 2024 but started nine games for the Houston Roughnecks in the UFL earlier this year.
Background
Jackson was a three-star high school recruit, who headed to UCF in 2017 and played in 13 games in his true freshman season, with one start.
He then suffered a serious injury ahead of his sophomore year and was expected to be out for the season. However, he recovered earlier than anticipated and was able to return in time for the last three games of the regular season and the team’s bowl game. He came off the bench in all four games but played 82 snaps. Since he only played four games, Jackson was eligible to redshirt.
His redshirt sophomore season saw him move into the starting line-up and over the next four seasons he missed just one game, starting 45 times in 49 appearances.
Having returned for a sixth season, Jackson was a second-team all-AAC selection in 2022 and then entered the 2023 draft but went undrafted. He attended training camp and played in preseason with the Jaguars as a rookie but was released in final cuts. He then attempted to play in the CFL but was released in final cuts again in 2024, this time by the Ottawa Redblacks.
He was with the Houston Roughnecks of the UFL for the 2025 season and, having started off as a reserve, started the last nine games of the season.
The Jets signed Jackson early on in camp, after they had released Obinna Eze on the first day.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Jackson brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Jackson has a lot of size and adequate length. At his pro day, he posted impressive numbers in the broad jump (108 inches) and three-cone drill (7.62). The rest of his speed, explosiveness and agility numbers were about average for his size.
He only managed 19 bench press reps at his pro day, which is perhaps surprising because he looks big and strong on film.
Usage
Jackson has extensive experience at all four non-center offensive line positions over the course of his career. He started multiple games and played over 400 snaps at each position in college, although he was a full-time right tackle in his penultimate season and a full-time left guard in his final season.
At the NFL level, he only played as a guard in preseason, albeit that he got plenty of reps on both sides. He started two games at right guard and seven at right tackle in the UFL.
Pass Blocking
During his career, Jackson has allowed a low pressure rate. However, he did give up 12 sacks in his last four college seasons and four in his 10 UFL games. He did not give up a sack in three preseason games.
He has a decent first step and is effective when can drop into his stance and get hold of his man. However, when playing tackle, he had issues staying in front of some of the UFL’s more productive pass rushers.
He may be a step slow to recover to a change of direction and would perhaps fare better inside at the pro level where there is less room for players to beat him with quickness.
When lined up inside, Jackson shows an ability to re-anchor when moved off his spot and uses his strength to gain leverage and control.
Run Blocking
Jackson’s run blocking grades on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus have been unspectacular, usually hovering around average. However, he looks good in certain situations so there may be a foundation to build on.
With his size and power, Jackson can be effective on combo blocks and when driving his man back.
He has shown he can pull and trap from the tackle position and find a target to engage with in space.
He can also be also effective pulling from the guard position, bringing good momentum and power into contact.
Short Yardage
Jackson has been a decent option to run behind in short yardage situations, although it will probably be an adjustment for him to play at a level where he doesn’t consistently hold a size and strength advantage.
Screen Blocking
On screens, Jackson has the ability to leak out but looks a little tentative in space and doesn’t always find a target to block.
He looked a bit less laborious leaking out for this one, but didn’t take the best angle and wasn’t athletic enough to get the outside leverage to seal his man off.
Footwork/Technique
Jackson needs to clean up a few things technique-wise to be able to compete with NFL level talent. He’s pretty good at locking his man down when he gets a grip of him but where pass rushers are able to keep Jackson’s hands off them, this makes it hard for him to stay in front of them.
He seems to have a solid base and a low center of gravity but quicker players are sometimes able to get him off balance with a sharp change of direction.
Penalties
Penalties aren’t a major concern with Jackson, who never had more than four penalties in any season at the college level. He had two offensive penalties in his final season to end up with 16 in six seasons.
In preseason action, he was called for holding twice in his first ever game; once on a run and once on a pass. He didn’t have a penalty in either of his other games though.
He had two penalties in his 10 UFL appearances. One was an illegal block below the waist to negate a 37-yard pass play.
Special Teams
Jackson’s only special teams role has been as a blocker on the placekicking unit. He had one penalty in this role during his college career.
Instincts/Intelligence
Jackson displayed impressive versatility throughout his career by playing multiple positions at all levels.
He is often left as the spare man when playing inside and he generally handled those situations well with his head on a swivel. However, on this play, while he did well to identify where to give help after his own man dropped off, he didn’t do a very good job of doing so and that player still made a play.
Jackson was a good student who was a four-time all AAC academic selection and then earned UCF AD honor roll accolades in fall of 2021.
He had pre-snap penalty in the UFL, for a false start, in his first game as a starter.
Attitude
Jackson brings good character, toughness and work ethic and was a team captain at UCF in 2021 and 2022. He also won the Heart of the Knight award which is designed to recognize the embodiment of a team player and did plenty of work in the community.
Injuries
Jackson suffered a torn ACL in the spring of 2018 but impressively was ready to play again by November and saw action at the end of the season.
He didn’t miss any time in 2019 despite a minor ankle injury but missed one game for undisclosed reasons in 2020.
Scheme Fit
From watching Jackson’s film, he looks like another linemen who might be better off in a gap/man/power scheme rather than one which employs a lot of zone blocking, which he may not have the mobility for.
What’s significant about that is that this is the same assessment we had of Marquis Hayes, who was the last offensive lineman brought in before Jackson was signed.
Rather than being a sign that the Jets have an intention to run less of a zone-based system than expected, this may just mean that the Jets decided to bring in players who bring different things to the table. After all, if all your linemen were lightweight linemen ideally suited to a pure zone system (not that they necessarily are in New York’s case), then when would your defensive linemen get a chance to go up against the bigger, stronger linemen they’ll also see during the season?
Conclusions
Using the concept of last in/first out, Jackson is an obvious long-shot to stick around this year, but it seems he made some progress over the past couple of years, so we’ll see how he competes in preseason.
A practice squad spot is probably the best case for him but he should get plenty of preseason reps at guard if he can stay healthy, so he has a chance to prove himself worthy of hanging onto.