The Bills really liked Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson. While speaking to reporters at the NFL Combine in February, Jackson said he had met with the Bills eight times already including the formal interview at the Combine. As it turned out, Jackson would also be one of 30 prospects the Bills were allowed to bring in for a pre draft visit.
There is plenty to like about the Texarkana, Texas native. Jackson was an All-American in high school. A four star prospect and rated as the seventh best defensive linemen in his recruiting year, Jackson committed to Louisiana State University. But in his freshman year in Baton Rouge, he played in only five games and his game action was solely on special teams.
Jackson transferred to the University of Arkansas and that is where his career took off. The 6’6″ 264 pounder was first team All-SEC in 2023 and second team all conference last season. In three years with the Razorbacks Jackson totaled 16 tackles, 26.5 for loss, 16 sacks, five passes broken up and a couple of forced fumbles. He is very athletic and he is long, with 33 3/4 inch arms. Those are two attributes the Bills value in their defensive linemen.
A two time team captain at Arkansas, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane called Jackson a high character guy with strong football smarts, instincts and awareness. Beane said Jackson has everything the Bills want in the DNA of a defensive lineman.
At the NFL Combine Jackson mentioned that he added about 40 pounds over his time at Arkansas but he dropped a lot of weight in preparation for the Combine and an NFL career. He ran a 4.68 forty yard dash and had a 40.5 inch vertical jump.
Jackson has Alopecia which is a condition that causes hair loss. He has been a voice for the Alopecia community and says he will continue to do that with his NFL platform.
Scouting reports will be provided by Joe Marino who does draft analysis for WGR. Marino also hosts the following podcasts: Locked On Bills, Locked on NFL Scouting and NFL First Read. Marino has authored two books about the Bills: Go Bills! and Buffalo’s Run. You can follow him on X @TheJoeMarino.
Here is Joe’s analysis of Jackson.Positives:
Landon Jackson is a really clean, stylistic fit to what the Bills traditionally prefer from their defensive ends. He’s got length, he’s got hand power, he’s got a lot of hand moves. He’s got the play strength to really shave rush angles and I think he’s got a very good finishing burst, really good contact balance and he knows how to play through the edges of blocks. I really like his hands. The hands are sudden, they’re violent and that enables him to take early control of reps. I think he’s got good rush variety and a very strong inside rip move. I like that he’s a very self-aware player. He knows that he’s not the type of player that’s going to win with pure speed and bend off the edge and he doesn’t try to win that way. He’s really leaned into the power components of being a rusher, and I think that allows him to be the best version of himself in addition to providing a high-end rush defense profile.
Concerns:
it’s just that he’s got some tight hips. He’s not super bendy or flexible. When you talk about cornering and really flattening and turning steep angles, that’s not going to be his game. But I think it’s more important to be able to play through contact then be able to run around and I think he mitigates that with his power components. He’s a bit of a high cut player meaning his hips are high, and that leads to some natural built-in challenges with playing with good leverage. He has to be very careful to keep his pads low. That way he’s not robbing himself at functional strength whether that’s rushing the passer or defending the run.
All Bills rookies will be in town for a minicamp May 9-11.
