Turf Show Times
Sean McVay called him out for a strong effort in OTAs
Fulfilling depth at the edge for the Los Angeles Rams is a work in progress. Fans are familiar with the exploits of Jared Verse and Byron Young, the bookend starters, but for 2025, L.A. did not re-up E#3 Michael Hoecht and now must replace his 639 defensive snaps and positional versatility.
To fill the void, the Rams did spend some draft capital at edge, getting Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart at #90 of Round 3 and they have two players with a few seasons in the pro’s, 2023 Round 5 pick Nick Hampton and Keir Thomas, undrafted in 2022. They also have last year’s Round 5 pick, Brennan Jackson. Although limited by battling a soft tissue for the first half of his rookie year, the Rams kept him on the 53 and got his feet wet, culminating with a start in the season finale vs. Seattle.
Now fully healed and with a year under his belt, Jackson may be the darkhorse to gobble up the missing Hoecht snaps at E#3. Rams Head coach Sean McVay gave him a shoutout of encouragement when discussing L.A.’s defense in a post-OTA interview.
“On the defensive side of the ball, I think BY (Byron Young) and Verse (Jared) did an excellent job. But you know, Brennan Jackson’s a guy that really stood out, we’re excited about seeing where he can go with his game.”
There’s not much pro film of Jackson, playing only 47 snaps as a rookie, with 27 in his Week 18 start, but there’s plenty of college work to digest and get an idea of what the Rams have to work with.
Is Brennan Jackson ready to contribute in 2025?
After entering Washington State as a three-star recruit, Jackson got off to a slow start, but then exploded onto he scene. As a freshman in 2018, he tore up a knee and followed that with a broken foot in 2019. He took over as a starter in the COVID-19 year of 2020 and locked in for four seasons, totaling 41 of 42 games. Made steady progress in his accolades, earning PAC12 All-Conference honorable mentions in 2020 and ’21, second team in 2022, and first team in 2023. Named to the Senior Bowl.
Jackson’s stats coincided with accolades, going up each season. For his 44 game career, he logged 164 tackles, 34.5 for loss, 20 sacks, three forced fumbles and five recoveries. In coverage, there was one interception and nine passes defended. He returned three fumbles for scores. An ankle tweak early in the week at the Senior Bowl kept him out of practice and the game.
While not elite physically or athletically, Jackson is certainly above average and his testing numbers fit well into NFL norms. He’s not a fluid, easy mover, more of a point-to-point linear player. He’ll win with a power game and getting off first. What you can count on is his...
