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Nebraska football: Lamar Jackson could be a steal in NFL Draft

By Danny Jaillet

LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Defensive back Lamar Jackson #21 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates a defensive play with Aaron Williams against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Defensive back Lamar Jackson #21 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates a defensive play with Aaron Williams against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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The Nebraska football alum could benefit a team greatly.

Nebraska football cornerback Lamar Jackson may be on the outside looking in come Draft time, but he did himself favors with a strong showing at the combine over the weekend.

The thing that separated him from the rest of the pack was his vertical leap. He had a 36.5-inch vertical on Sunday. His numbers for the rest of the tests were decent all things considered. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds. That put him just outside of the top 15.

He also managed to put up 10 repetitions in the 225 pound bench press and also recorded a 122-inch broad jump. Both of those numbers were outside of the top 15.

He is projected to be a third round pick by several analysts. Whoever gets him in the third round or later is getting a steal. He has great size for a corner at six-foot-two, 208 pounds. He is definitely on the taller side for a corner. That would definitely be beneficial in today’s National Football League. As I say all the time, it is very passing-friendly. Jackson is not the type of player that is going to make headlines, but he is the type of player that is going to make an impact.

We saw it just last season at Nebraska. As the Nebraska football defense struggled mightily, Jackson was one of the more consistent players. He recorded 40 tackles, 12 pass breakups, and three interceptions.

For a guy who struggled both on and off the field during his Nebraska football career, a great senior season was awesome to see. He stepped up in a big way, and he solidified the Nebraska football secondary. Sure, the secondary had some bad games. The entire team had bad games throughout the season. However, Jackson was a huge part of the defense.

In particular, his closing speed on the wide receivers was very impressive. Sometimes, he would get beat initially but make up for it by closing on the receiver. It was quite impressive to watch.

Hopefully, he manages to get drafted. If he were to get selected, he would be the first Nebraska football player to go to the National Football League via the Draft since Stanley Jean-Baptiste in 2014. This Draft is very deep with defensive players, so I could see where Jackson could get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully, a team will take a chance on him. His athleticism and size is a tremendous asset.

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