{"id":293605,"date":"2026-07-24T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=293605"},"modified":"2026-07-24T07:32:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:32:03","slug":"kenyatta-jackson-jr-2027-nfl-draft-early-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/24\/kenyatta-jackson-jr-2027-nfl-draft-early-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft Early Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohio State<\/a> lost many of its top defensive players from last season, but let’s take a look at the Buckeyes’ best returning defender in this early Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft profile. The defense will look a lot different in 2026 after losing Caleb Downs<\/a>, Arvell Reese<\/a>, and Sonny Styles,<\/a> among others. Despite the massive overhaul on that side of the ball, Ohio State consistently replenishes talent across the roster. Jackson burst onto the scene in 2025, and he looks to be even better in his final year in Columbus. What makes him a quality edge rusher, and where can he get better in 2026?<\/p>\n

Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft Early Player Profile<\/h2>\n

Measurables<\/h3>\n

Height- 6-foot-6<\/p>\n

Weight- 265 pounds<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Jackson was a four-star recruit coming out of Chaminade-Madonna (Florida) and was the ninth-ranked edge rusher in the Class of 2022<\/a>. He committed to Ohio State and redshirted the 2022 season. Jackson appeared in three games and had two tackles and a tackle for loss in his redshirt campaign. It took some time for him to emerge as a top player, as he was a rotational defensive end in 2023 and 2024. Jackson played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman and recorded seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.<\/p>\n

In the Buckeyes’ national championship-winning season in 2024, he saw action in all 16 contests and finished with 16 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. After three seasons of waiting, Jackson became a starter and put the Big Ten<\/a> on notice. He racked up 28 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks<\/a> across 14 games. His best showing was against Penn State<\/a>, where he had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft Strengths<\/h3>\n

Jackson has an impressive combination of size and speed, while also having ideal length for an NFL defensive end. He shows exceptional burst off the line of scrimmage to win early in reps. His power is good as a pass rusher, as he can drive back opposing offensive linemen. Jackson isn’t just a pure power rusher; he also has a variety of pass-rush moves, including effective spin and swim moves. He plays with a high motor, which allows him to make plays out of nowhere. Jackson is a quality run defender who is excellent at disengaging from blocks. His football IQ is evident when setting the edge and maintaining discipline against play action.<\/p>\n

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Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft Weaknesses<\/h3>\n

While he is an all-around strong edge rusher, there are areas of Jackson’s game that need improvement. His biggest issue has been missing tackles, with a career 23.7% PFF missed-tackle rate<\/a>. Although Jackson has the combination of power, speed, and pass-rushing moves, he can improve at finishing reps. He does a great job putting himself in position for sacks, but is hit-and-miss when it comes to bringing down the quarterback. Jackson can also get caught over-pursuing, which leads to missed tackles and sacks.<\/p>\n

Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft Overview<\/h3>\n

There’s a ton to like about Jackson as a prospect. While it took him a few years to become a starter, he made the most of the opportunity in 2025. He’s a refined pass rusher who defends the run very well. His measurables should translate well to the next level, but he needs to improve as a tackler. With Reese and Styles gone, Jackson will have the opportunity to take another step forward in 2026.<\/p>\n

Edge rusher is arguably the most valuable position in football outside of quarterback, and teams will spend premium draft capital to ensure they are set at the position. Colin Simmons<\/a> and Dylan Stewart<\/a> are the early frontrunners at defensive end for the 2027 NFL Draft, but there’s a deep second tier of prospects, which Jackson is a part of. He currently projects as a second-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, but Jackson can firmly establish himself as a first-rounder if he has another strong season.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio State lost many of its top defensive players from last season, but let’s take a look at the Buckeyes’ best returning defender in this early Kenyatta Jackson Jr. 2027 NFL Draft profile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":293688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,33760],"tags":[33861,33941],"class_list":["post-293605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-profiles","tag-2027-nfl-draft","tag-kenyatta-jackson-jr"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293605"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293698,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293605\/revisions\/293698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}