[Direckshun]

OG Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State



Gabe Jackson plays like a man, but suffers from the same scheme limitations at the hands of Mississippi State's offense as Martin does from Notre Dame. He is a really impressive player, but there's still a lot we need to know before we understand how well he'd click into any particular NFL offense.

Here's what's indisputable: Jackson is, uh, kinda big (6'3", 340) and carries is phenomenally well. It's almost certain that an NFL team's going to ask him to lose 15-20 of it anyway, but that should only help his already-pretty impressive athleticism for a player that projects to be a power guard in the NFL.

His pass protection, so long as he locks in on his assignment, is extremely strong. He's a master at sinking his hips and swallowing bullrushes, or shoving a defender who's slamming the gaps wide of his mark. What he's not great at is communication with his fellow lineman -- stunts regularly throw him and his fellow lineman off, and there's far too many blitzes where Jackson ends up a bit confused and blocks nobody.

Jackson gets really good push in the run game, but it's hard to tell how great he'd be in space, since Mississippi State virtually never put him in space. The scheme is very direct and downhill, but on the odd occasion where Jackson was asked to pull, he was effective.

Gabe Jackson has a very high ceiling if he responds to coaching. I don't think zone blocking offenses will have a ton of interest in him, and offenses that like to run a bunch of screens or put their OL in space... There's still a lot to learn about him, even as he's a senior.

Probably the best thing about Jackson is that you don't have to give him help. He can handle defensive tackles extremely well one-on-one, and will pancake them in the run game from time to time. If we find out he can play well at the second level, can get out in front and block on a screen, or can even play a little tackle if an emergency calls for it, then he's going to get a shit ton of interest as a potential All Pro talent.

Projection for Jackson: I'd really like to see him at the Combine and see how athletic he is. A non-athletic Jackson could be an extremely good value pick in the 2nd round. But if he's a surprising athletic wonder, at 340 pounds, he won't last past the "teens" in the first round.

Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Moderate. At 23, he'd be a decent value pick, other than the fact that you're selecting a guard in the first round -- which Dorsey is more than capable of, for all we know. Gabe doesn't quite have the versatility of any of the other tackles the Chiefs could entertain here, but the Chiefs are really hurting for a reliable push down the middle of the DL.