The FSU interest in the upcoming NFL Draft is one name — Darrell Jackson — and it's been hard to place exactly where the defensive tackle will be selected. We can almost guarantee he won't be picked in the first round, and it's very unlikely he'll go in the second, but after there are plenty of projections that have Jackson going in the third round.
Truthfully, once you get past the first 40–50 picks, things become a bit of a crapshoot and a third round projection falls into the fifth round while a fifth or sixth-round projection moves up. There's no consensus on where players rank from draft board to draft board, and it just takes one team.
Darrell Jackson Jr. could extend FSU's NFL Draft streakhttps://t.co/xo3NVfPvS8
— NoleSports.com (@NoleSports) April 23, 2026
Jackson has his fans in this draft. ESPN's Jordan Reid has him going to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 74, but NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah doesn't have him anywhere among his top 150 prospects.
Opinions vary on where Darrell Jackson will be drafted
Jackson not appearing on Jeremiah's list is a little concerning, but each of these guys have their sources that feed them information and from there it's simply a matter of opinion. The questions about Jackson and his overall scheme fit are going to linger because he was put in a position where he had to play a certain role outside his comfort zone in Tony White's 3-3-5 scheme. He'll be asked to be less of a space eater in the pros and more of an athletic interior presence with the ability to get to the quarterback.
In preparation for this day, Jackson transformed his body and showed some promising tools during the NFL Combine and his Pro Day workout. Many NFL teams are in love with his physical stature and there's the belief that with some seasoning, he could develop into a special force in the middle of the defensive line.
The good news is Jackson is going to get picked somewhere, and he's going to have an opportunity to be an everyday player in the NFL and the team that makes the move is not likely to regret it.
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