Potential Lions draft pick scouting report: Arkansas DE Landon Jackson

Film observations for Arkansas DE Landon Jackson—a potential Detroit Lions target in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With the NFL Draft fast approaching, I’m breaking down potential Detroit Lions draft prospects. Landon Jackson has the prototypical look of a Lions defensive end, carries the leadership pedigree as a two-time Arkansas captain, and, based on film study, could be a strong complementary piece opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Below are my observations on Jackson’s game, including positive traits, deficient traits, and other observations from his tape.

Arkansas DE Landon Jackson

Measurables:

• Height: 6-foot-6
• Weight: 264 pounds
• Arm length: 33 1⁄4 inches
• RAS: 9.95 (pro day pending)

Games watched

• 2024 Ole Miss
• 2024 Oklahoma State
• 2023 Alabama
• 2023 LSU

Positive traits

• Stout base in run defense; shoots his hands and extends his arms effectively.
• Penetrates gaps well as a five-technique when allowed to.
• Uses a long-arm move in run defense to anchor and knock offensive tackles off balance.
• Leverages his length well to control blockers with push-and-pull techniques.
• Maintains ground against pulling blockers and rarely gets displaced.
• High-motor edge player with strong pursuit skills.
• Delivers some powerful hits on ball carriers in the hole.
• Overwhelms college tight ends when single-blocked.
• Length and athleticism shine as the key defender on read-option plays—squeezing down on handoffs while containing quarterbacks on keepers.
• Diverse pass rush repertoire includes a variety of set-ups for his rip move (both inside and outside), an effective hand-swipe to get around the corner, a cross-chop move, inside swim move, and even a skip-step.
• Interferes with passing windows due to his towering stature.
• Shows flashes of unexpected bend despite his tall frame.
• Solid get-off from a two-point stance
• Utterly dominant against Alabama in 2023, giving an eventual 4-8 Arkansas team a fighter’s chance against the SEC Champion Crimson Tide in a hard-fought 24-21 battle.

Deficient traits

• Can be stalled in his pass rush, stopping his feet instead of driving to find an edge.
• Plays with inconsistent leverage—can be too tall at times and gets caught peeking into the backfield.
• Handful of times, particularly evident against Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, where he was unable to finish the sack. However he was able to bring him down in the Senior Bowl.
• Asked to two-gap from the interior (five-technique or three-technique), which may not translate well to the NFL, especially trying to anchor on doubles from guard and tackle.
• Occasionally drops into zone coverage, but moving backward in space is not a strength.
• Primarily used as the second looper in defensive line stunts and hasn’t shown much effectiveness in that role.
• Despite testing well in explosive drills, lacks true top-end acceleration.
• Committed a false start penalty on third down against Ole Miss.

Other observations

• Comfortable operating from both a two-point and three-point stance.
• Primarily lines up on the right side of the defensive front....