The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is still off on the horizon. Join us in the NFL’s dead zone with a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.
In the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars added a hometown player by picking Cooper Hodges, an alumni of Baker County High School. But Hodges isn’t the rookie who played his games closest to TIAA Bank Field.
Dequan Jackson was just a few miles TIAA Bank Field at Riverside High School. Rather than stay close to home as a college football player, the linebacker traveled across the country to play for the Colorado State Rams.
Now, about five years after he left Jacksonville, Jackson is a member of his hometown Jaguars, aiming to make the team as an undrafted free agent.
To do so, Jackson will undoubtedly need to demonstrate special teams value, as the team isn’t hurting for linebackers with Foye Oluokun, Devin Lloyd, and Chad Muma at the top of the depth chart on the interior and fourth-round pick Ventrell Miller added to the mix.
Contract (2023): $750,000 base salary, $333 prorated signing bonus, $750,333 cap hit.
Acquired: Jaguars signed Jackson as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2023.
- 68.9 (2022 – Colorado State)
- 66.9 (2021 – Colorado State)
- 66.4 (2020 – Colorado State)
- 61.5 (2019 – Colorado State)
- 45.2 (2018 – Colorado State)
Statistics:
- Two forced fumbles, six tackles for loss, 100 tackles (2022)
- One sack, 8.5 tackles for loss, 84 tackles (2021)
- Two sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, 40 tackles (2020)
- 1.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 87 tackles (2019)
- 0.5 tackles for loss, 11 tackles (2018)
Highlight:
One of the biggest plays of the game here. Toledo mounted a drive into the CSU red zone t the start of the second quarter. Excellent read and huge stuff by Dequan Jackson here. pic.twitter.com/7hDng3Vecu
— Jake Schwanitz (@JakeDNVR) September 23, 2021
Quote: “I love feeling like the field general. I enjoy the pressure that comes with playing the linebacker position. I love the responsibility that it demands. I’ve played both inside and outside. I have an interchangeable skill set. I love running the defense and playing off-ball. I can run and hit. I have the versatility that you need to play linebacker.” – Jackson
