Cardia Jackson, 6'2" 240 LB, Louisiana-Monroe
Rankings: Jackson's rankings are, well, all over the place. NFLDraftScout ranked him 51st at OLB at the end of the season after ranking him 33rd there to start the season. CollegeFootballNews.com ranked him #22 at the beginning of the 2009 season at ILB. Consensus Draft Services (CDS), on the other hand, projected Jackson as a 5th-6th round draft pick. Pro Football Weekly, on the other other hand, didn't have Jackson anywhere in their 2010 Draft Guide. YMMV, indeed.
Biography/Honors:
Sun Belt Conference all-time leader in total tackles. Ended his career tied for first among active NCAA players in solo tackles (228) and in third place in total tackles (381). Three-year starter.
2009: Sun Belt Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year and all-Sun Belt 1st team. Led conference with 117 tackles. Had 8 tackles and forced a fumble against Texas.
2008: All-Sun Belt 1st team. Eighth in nation in tackles with 127 (10.6/game). 8 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 INTs. 18 tackles against Ole Miss.
2007: All-Sun Belt 2nd team. Led ULM in tackles with 79. 9 TFL, 0.5 sack and 2 pass breakups in 12 games, starting 8.
2006: 58 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries in 12 games.
Major: general studies.
Injuries: none reported.
Pro Day stats: CDS reported Jackson's 40 time unofficially at 4.75. No other data is available for Jackson even though there were plenty of reports about ULM's pro day.
Positives: Tackling machine who carried ULM's defense. Moves well from sideline to sideline. Closes well on ballcarrier. Comes in angry and makes the tackle. Quick read-and-react LB; doesn't get fooled by misdirection plays. Nice at wading through traffic and accelerating to the ball. Good at pass drops. Looks good covering quick passes and screens.
Negatives: Not a thumper, seems more like a drag-down tackler who can get run over. Doesn't make the big play. Would like to see better hands from him when he has the chance to make the interception. Lacks the size and athleticism the NFL wants out of its ILBs these days. His productivity seemed to drop his senior year even though the defense was changed to free him up to make plays.
Compares to: David Vobora. Similar size and they did a lot of the same things well in college at lesser football programs.
Fun facts: In the human body, the cardia is the opening into the stomach and the part of the stomach connected to the esophagus. Tachycardia is the medical term for rapid heartbeat, or possibly now, a rookie Rams LB with poor fashion sense. NFL alumni of Louisiana-Monroe include new Rams safety Kevin Payne, Marty Booker and former NFL QBs Stan Humphries and BUBBY BRISTER.
RamView: The Rams have had modest success recently with LBs who rang up lots of tackles in college though they weren't exactly playing at football factories. Tim McGarigle (Northwestern) lasted a couple of years here. Chris Chamberlain's (Tulsa) entering his third year here and is making a mark on special teams. Vobora's (Idaho) the success story, going from last player drafted in 2008 to borderline starter here. Most of the footage I saw of Jackson, he played from the MLB position, but I assume he's in the mix for an OLB backup spot here, along with Chamberlain, Larry Grant and 7th-round pick Josh Hull. Grant has never really impressed me much, and I wouldn't mind seeing him get beaten out. The inside experience should be a plus for Jackson, provided he can show he can play outside (same story for Hull), and far be it from me to vote against a guy who's practically named for heart. I think Jackson's a good pickup by the Rams and he's got a fighting chance to make the roster.
Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ULM athletics site, Wikipedia, NFLDraftScout.com, Scout.com, CDSDraft.com, New York Times, Multisource Sports Management, Princeton University WordNet
Photo: Scout.com
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