Field Gulls
D’Eryk Jackson wasn’t part of Seattle’s initial UDFA class, but he was able to impress in rookie minicamp.
The Seattle Seahawks looked like they were one of the best teams in the 2025 undrafted free agent pool. They signed the best DL available (Jared Ivey), the best CB available (Zy Alexander), and they had signed the best LB available (Jackson Woodard). Obviously, their position on the boards is no guarantee that they will become great players, but it’s a start.
The last piece listed was “traded.” After minicamp, Jackson Woodard was cut and in his place the team signed another LB who was in minicamp, but as a tryout player, D’Eryk Jackson from Kentucky. He was basically the last UDFA to arrive, just like Jalen Sundell in 2024.
Could Jackson make an impact?
Jackson was born in Dublin, Georgia and has always tried to stand out for his physicality, including his great idol in sports being none other than Ray Lewis. He played American football and basketball (Power Forward) in High School. He always accumulated many tackles, leading the team in consecutive years in this criterion.
He arrived at College as a 3-star prospect and received offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Purdue, before accepting to play for Kentucky. In 2021 he suffered an Achilles injury in spring training and was expected to miss the entire season. He returned seven months later after a good recovery. In 2022 and 2023 he had healthy seasons and led the Wildcats in tackles in both years. In 2024 he played eight games and suffered another injury, this time in the shoulder that made him miss the final four games of the season.
In five years at Kentucky, he played 47 games, started 31 consecutively, had 216 career starts, made 17 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups.
In most of my articles, I take into account the NFL.com, Dane Brugler, and Bleacher Report boards. Of course, this is not a verdict, but it is a first impression. I confess that although some analysts I follow have listed Jackson as a Day 3 bet, I saw little of his tape before Seattle signed him.
Therefore, my expectations were not as high as those I had with Jackson Woodard, one of the best linebackers covering the field in the entire class. In addition, the UNLV player was instinctive and physical. He was basically my bet to be the “Tyrice Knight” of 2025. However, Woodard performed very poorly with a 4.86s forty-yard dash.
I still don’t think he’s that slow on the field (and the Houston Texans got a great deal on waivers with him), but the Seahawks clearly had their eye on good players and Jackson is much better than Woodard in that regard.
Going back to Jackson’s evaluation on the more well-known boards...the outlook was not good. Bleacher Report and NFL.com had no page on him and in...
