Drake Jackson began his first NFL training camp this week, and the 49ers’ top pick in the 2022 draft did so amid comments from his position coach that will likely inflate the expectations around him.
The quiet months of the offseason are regularly filled with high praise for rookies whom teams hope will have a significant impact in year one.
Niners defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, however, was particularly effusive in his praise of second-round pick Jackson in a piece published by The Athletic just days before the start of camp.
“He’s the whole package,” Kocurek said. “We had a combine interview with Drake early on in the process. Bendy dude, he’s got some slipperiness to him. Change of direction, a knack for winning one-on-one in pass rush. A player that should be ascending.”
He added that Jackson was asked to wear a variety of hats in college at USC, which experimented with him at linebacker and regularly asked him to drop into coverage. Kocurek indicated the 49ers will simplify things for Jackson by asking him predominantly to set the edge in the run game and win one on one as a pass rusher.
While Kocurek is talking openly about making life easier for Jackson and the Niners have the defensive line depth to bring him along patiently if necessary, his words clearly indicate San Francisco believes the former Trojan can make a sizeable impression early as a pro.
Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans echoed Kocurek’s sentiments in anticipating an ascension from Jackson.
“A rookie like Drake, he’s coming along,” Ryans said. “Again, it’s a lot of work that he has to put in to get where we need him to be. He’s coming along, he’s doing a good job, doing everything we ask him, so I’m happy with where he is now. And again, I’m excited to see where he’ll grow as we continue to go. We put the pads on, that’s when you can see D-Linemen truly show up, when the pads come on.”
Such comments are likely to breed expectations that belie Jackson’s college production of 12.5 sacks in three seasons. Yet, as Kocurek intimated, Jackson is in a much better situation to vindicate his words than he was during his college career.
Jackson will be playing in a defense that is primarily going to ask him to do one thing – attack – and, between his physical gifts and an already well-refined collection of pass-rush moves, he has the skill set to consistently succeed doing so.
Additionally, the presence of Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead on the same defensive front should facilitate one-on-one matchups for Jackson to exploit.
Kocurek and, to a lesser extent, Ryans’ words ratchet up the pressure on the defensive line coach to continue his outstanding track record of developing defensive linemen. The Niners evidently believe they have found a gem with the 61st pick, it’s now up to the player and the coaching staff to prove that sparkling assessment of Jackson correct.
