Drake Jackson – Rest of Season Deep Dynasty Profile

Welcome to the rest of the season / deep dynasty profile for 49ers linebacker Drake Jackson.

Drake Jackson

With their first selection of the 2022 NFL Draft, the 49ers took USC’s defensive end, Drake Jackson.
By selecting Jackson with the No. 61 overall pick, the Niners addressed one of their most important — and maybe only real — defensive downfalls. They added a potential future bookend edge rusher to future Hall Of Famer Nick Bosa.

The 49ers are solid but currently have an underwhelming fantasy points-producing defensive line. So far, as a post-draft IDP target that didn’t get any real rookie hype,  Jackson’s numbers are pretty impressive. In total, he recorded three sacks, two tackles for a loss, four QB hits, one pass defended, and added six solos and two assists for good measure. Astonishingly enough, Jackson has only played 32 percent of the snaps available.

Jackson’s best game recently was against the Falcons in Week 6, with him seeing just 21% of the snaps. He had the best game of his young rookie career, where he managed a sack, three solos, and one QB hit. And Jackson did it all in just 12 snaps.

At any level of the NFL, that might be lucky. But considering the rest of his season’s numbers and his respectable on-par PFF rookie grade, we are stashing Drake Jackson where we can right now. Jackson definitely has a lot of upside of paying off in those deepest IDP formats for the rest of the season.

Worth Waiting

I’ve noticed that Jackson has only played 1% on special teams. The cheesecake hot take here is that Drake Jackson is being brought along slowly. According to NFL Draft analyst Steve Muench, Jackson’s rookie profile included the following:

He has active hands and will mix in an inside move. He shoots his hands, and stacks tight ends. But he has a lean lower body and is not as effective taking on offensive tackles.

That is the translation of why Jackson sees limited action. The 49ers are giving him a chance to develop but won’t risk his future. So we’ll provide the team’s pro trainers plenty of time, and Jackson will grow into his 6’4″, 250 lbs frame soon enough.

Then we’ll watch  Jackson complement Nick Bosa. And who knows? Maybe in time, Jackson will help fill the void if Bosa gets hurt. Something the team and fantasy managers would all appreciate.

Right now, we all need to consider that Jackson has this dynasty upside. But as normal, we also see a catch-22 lingering, capping his potential IDP production ceiling. And no, it’s not just Nick Bosa, but the idea Jackson will ever play. Or ever play a total amount of snaps on average, and in every contest anytime soon.

Don’t be mistaken, though. It’s the old linebacker/defensive end Dee Ford‘s role the team was looking to address. If the long history repeats itself, it could limit Jackson to around 70% of the snaps as a situational pass rusher.

If Jackson’s playing time to IDP production ratio right now is 100% legit, Drake Jackson won’t need to be on the field all the time. Yet, he would still offer a 2023 edge rusher deep dynasty value, lower tier one breakout option.

Thank you for checking out the 49er Edge Rusher Drake Jackson’s IDP profile. And If you’re interested, catch more of my Tipster fantasy football and NFL IDP content on Twitter at @TheIDPTipster, or find all my future IDP Guys content at IDPGuys.org. Let’s chat! I’ll always find time to talk defensive player football anytime.