By most accounts, Darrell Jackson Jr. had a solid week at the NFL Combine. He measured in with very good numbers, showing off his 315-pound frame, looking much lighter and leaner than he did when he was carrying around nearly 340 pounds at FSU.
Did Jackson boost his stock? Probably not enough to sneak into the second round, but he entered the draft season as a likely top-100 pick and didn't do anything last week to discourage that, even though he did not run the 40-yard, choosing to participate in other drills. It's under the assumption that he'll run on FSU's Pro Day, which is tentatively scheduled for March 27.
Darrell Jackson Jr 4 bag agility pic.twitter.com/VwErFcTRZz
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 26, 2026
Post-Combine mock draft has Darrell Jackson Jr. heading to the Chiefs
Nicholas Rome of Saturday Blitz released his post-combine three-round mock draft and has Jackson Jr, heading to the Chiefs with the 74th pick. This would give Jackson Jr. a chance to play for one of the most successful franchises this decade and, as Rome points out, he will have the opportunity to line up next to Chris Jones, a six-time NFL All Pro and future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame..
""Chris Jones continues to play at a high level, but the Chiefs should continue to add pieces around him. Darrell Jackson Jr is a great nose tackle prospect who could allow Chris Jones to move around the front to take advantage of matchups.""Nicholas Rome of Saturday Blitz
Rome's projection falls in line with most projects that have Jackson going somewhere in the third round between the 70th and 100th pick, which is the last pick in the round. Once you get to this point in the draft, there's a lot of movement which could help Jackson's cause, especially if he slips past the middle of the third round. It's very conceivable that a team will trade into the third round to select him.
And there's always the chance Jackson Jr. could blow teams away at his Pro Day, which would put  the back-end of the second round back in play for him. The good news is that Jackson Jr. went through the combine, got to show off his transformed body and his draft stock held steady.